In Real Life
by kimsooyeon123
Summary: In what ways can a movie change two actresses' lives?
1. Description

Credits to: naui3981 from Asianfanfics . c o m.

TaeNy (Taeyeon and Tiffany from, the South Korean Girl Band, Girls' Generation) story!

Sunny and Sooyoung are also from Girls' Generation.

I recommend to read this fanfic at asianfanfics story/view/790970/in-real-life-comedy-romance-snsd-taeny (because there are pictures)

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 ** _Taeyeon Kim_**

Taeyeon is a 25-year-old award winning actress that was born is Korea, moving to the United States of America when she was only 5, starting to work at the age of 10, once her talent was something extremely evident since she was little. Now, praised by her exceptional acting skills and specially known for her vast number of strong and sometimes badass female roles, she is famous and known all over the world, and frequently has Hollywood's eyes all on her. Whenever a movie presents her name, no person, magazine, TV show would stop talking about it ㅡ it is sure to be a huge success. But that's not all about this sophisticated woman: One of her biggest charms is her ability of alluring people. No one could ever explain how come she has _this_ sex appeal. Although she might appear too shy, reserved and sometimes even cold, Taeyeon turns out to be one of those people you just can't resist.

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 ** _Tiffany Hwang_**

Born in California in 1989 under the name of Stephanie Hwang, Tiffany has been in the entertainment industry for over 2 years now. Choosing the name "Tiffany" as her artistic name in order to make a tribute to her mother, she appeared for the first time on the big screen playing a sexy spy in an action movie ㅡ this movie being the most popular of her career so far. Tiffany, however, is more selective when accepting roles, often choosing those who are more delicate and easy to relate to. Still being fresh meat to Hollywood, she is frequently the target of tons of attention coming from the media and, while some people criticize her saying she is too plain and not outstanding (what, they believe, she was supposed to be in a business like this), others bet on her to soon be one of Hollywood's most renowned stars.

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 ** _The movie:_ _Stupid Cupid_**

Synopsis: Leah and Ella have been friends since they were babies, as their mothers have known each other since college. They grew up together and built a strong and unique bond, everyone knew they were the best of friends, their families knew each other very well and always kept in touch. However, when Ella was 10, her father died, and her mother decided that it would be better for them to move from their current place, in San Francisco. In that way, they both moved to London a couple of months later, a crying Ella being forced to leave Leah behind. As they grew older and also busier, they ended up losing contact when they were 15. Years later, at the age of 23, after getting her college degree, Ella comes back to the US to take better care of her mother, who is now seriously ill and wants to be near her relatives. And, a week after she comes back to her home town, she happens to meet again the one person that she has known and cherished for so long.


	2. Casting

**POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

It was 6:30AM and I was in my van with my manager - and best friend - Sooyoung, resting my forehead on the window, with a huge cup of coffee in one hand, my personal phone in the other and heading to a photoshoot that, I unfortunately believe, would probably last for some good 3 hours, if not more. I was tired as hell, for I hadn't slept last night. Insomnia got me good once again. A great beginning for a Friday.

I heard the cellphone I use for work ringing, but I didn't bother to look. I was too tired to even answer the phone.

"Sooyoung, can you please answer it for me?" I said, almost as a whisper, and then sipped my coffee hoping caffeine would make me wake up a little. "And if it is Brandon again, tell that son of a bitch that if he doesn't shut up and leave me alone I will fucking kill him with my own bare hands," I added.

Brandon Collins is a famous Hollywood actor. As famous as I am. We worked together in my last movie, over a year and a half ago. We were a couple in the movie and, for the profits' sake, we agreed on faking a relationship at least during the worldwide promotions of the movie. It worked. You know, Brandon's not actually bad, he can be a nice and cool guy... But he's way to insistent, delusional and consequently childish. While our "relationship" was indeed just acting for me, he kind of fell in love with me for real, and since we "broke up" ㅡ and that was six months ago ㅡ he wouldn't stop nagging at me talking about how much he wants to "be back with me" and how he can't picture his life without me in it. He calls me at least 3 times a week, and thank goodness he doesn't have my personal number. And on the other hand, I've been trying to politely tell him to fuck off for these past months, but nothing seems to work. I'm usually patient and nice, but this man was already driving me up the wall.

"Hello," I heard Sooyoung answer the call, putting it to the speaker mode.

" _Hello. Are you speaking for Kim Taeyeon?_ " the manly voice on the line said.

"Yes, I am. You're talking to Choi Sooyoung, her manager."

" _Oh, great. Good morning Ms. Choi. I just received the script for the new movie I'll be directing and I would really like to have Ms. Kim read it. Is she there? Can I talk to her?_ "

By then, I was already carefully paying attention, but still didn't feel like talking to anyone. I signed Sooyoung to tell the man I was sleeping.

"She is taking a nap right now, sir. I'm sorry."

" _Oh... Well, may I send her the script? It is something different than what I've always seen her doing, I think she might be interested._ "

By hearing that, Sooyoung turned to me with a questioning look. I gave her one thumb up. To be honest, I was excited to get another role, I really love my job. And if the director says it is something different from my previous works, then I'm even more excited. I'm curious to know what the script is about.

"Yes, you may. I'm sure she'll gladly read it. I'll be sending you her address in a few minutes, Mr...?"

" _Cox. Martin Cox._ "

"Okay, Mr. Cox. Thank you for your call."

" _Thank you. The script will be delivered as soon as possible._ "

And, with that, Sooyoung hung up the call.

"So?" She said.

"So what?"

"Are you really interested?"

"Yeah, why not? You know I love to act. And I believe I will have some more time to rest until we start to film it. I'm actually looking forward to reading the script. The Cox guy got me curious," I chuckled.

"Yeah," Sooyoung chuckled with me "I have to admit I'm curious too. People don't usually offer you much different roles, they know in what you stand out the most... I liked how this guy took a step forward with you, you know. And I also think it is going to be great for you to play something different, I have a good feeling about this."

I smiled.

"Me too."

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

I woke up by the sound of my phone ringing. I looked at the clock on my nightstand, it said 11:45AM. Did I really sleep this much? Well, I wasn't working, anyway. I picked my phone up and looked at the ID. I smiled a little, rubbing my eyes and answering the call.

"Good morning, Sunny," I said, greeting my manager and friend.

" _Good morning Ms. Sleepy Head, I have good news for you._ "

"Oh, do you? Great news in the morning is lovely. Tell me." I made myself more comfortable in my bed and under the covers, already getting excited.

" _I just received a call from Mr. Marting Cox, a director. I got you a new script. It seems to be the kind of movie you would like to be in._ "

"Oh my god, really? This is so nice, Sunny! I was missing acting so much! That's great, that's really great! When will you hand it to me? Have you read it?"

Sunny chuckled.

" _Calm down,_ " she said " _I haven't read it. I wouldn't dare to if you haven't yet. But it is here with me, already. And I'm on my way to your house, if you don't mind._ "

"No, of course not! Come, I'll be waiting for you," I said and smiled to myself.

" _Good. Oh, and by the way, I'm bringing us lunch,_ " Sunny added.

I just had to chuckle.

"You are fabulous, Sun."

I hung up the phone without waiting for Sunny to respond and immediately got up from the bed. My house was kind of far from the downtown, so I was sure that Sunny would take at least almost half an hour to make it to here. I decided to take a bath and put on some comfortable clothes to wait for my manager to arrive, and I couldn't contain my excitement. I definitely have a good feeling about this upcoming project ㅡ I believe I'll take it without thinking twice.

* * *

 **Taeyeon ㅡ POV**

The photoshoot went by smoothly. I was surrounded with good people. And, for my surprise, it didn't last as much as I expected it two. I arrived at the studio at 7AM, and by 9:30AM I was already done. Sooyoung and I stopped by a small cafeteria to have breakfast, since neither I nor her had had anything but coffee the whole morning. When I got home, it was around 11AM. I found the script that was offered to me some hours earlier packed on top of my bed, my housekeeper must've received it and decided to let it for me in my room, since I dismissed him from his chores this afternoon. I'll thank him later.

I took of my shoes, threw myself on the bed and let out a small sigh of relief when I did so. I had been praying for that moment for the whole morning. I would take a nap if I could but, unsurprisingly, I wasn't sleepy anymore. I made myself comfortable and took the script's package, opening it and grabbing the script. It said "Stupid Cupid" and "LEAH" on the first page ㅡ I suppose that's my character's name. I furrowed my brows.

"What is this going to be? Some kind of a chick-flick?" I murmured to myself.

Anyway, I was still curious about the plot, so I decided to give it a chance.

Fifteen minutes later, I was already in the middle of the script and completely surprised with what I was reading.

"Now... _That_ is something different from my previous roles," I said to myself, already convinced that Leah's role had to be mine.

I finished the script so quickly I almost felt like I was devouring it and, as soon as I did so, I texted Sooyoung asking for Mr. Cox's number. It made me so excited to get the chance of playing something I had never played before, that was everything acting was about for me. I really wanted that role, it would be an amazing personal and professional experience. I had to try.

I grabbed my phone when I heard it beeping, saying that Sooyoung had replied my SMS. I instantly called the number I received.

" _Yes?_ " Mr. Cox answered.

"Hello, Mr. Martin Cox? This is Taeyeon Kim speaking. I just finished reading the script you sent me."

" _Oh goodness, this is awesome! It's marvelous! I'm so glad you did, Ms. Kim. So?_ "

"I'm in," I replied and smiled.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

It was already 12:20PM and I was sitting on my couch playing with my puppy Prince when I heard Sunny's car's horn. I rapidly got up and made my way to the door, opening and consequently watching a cute Sunny chewing something that I believed that was fried chicken. I chuckled. She was so small and cute, it didn't even look like she was 2 years older than me.

"Hey!" I shouted "I'm hungry too!" I pouted. "Share!"

She turned to me when she heard my voice and giggled. She finished grabbing everything she needed from inside her car and made her way to my door. I greeted her with a small hug, I didn't want her to drop everything she had in hands.

"So?" I smiled widely "Where's the script?"

"Hi to you too," she said "I thought you were hungry."

"I am hungry, happy to see you but above all I'm excited AND curious," I said as she walked in and I closed the door.

"Here," she chuckled and handed me the script. "You can read it while eating. If I were you, I would do that. I won't wait for you and you'll have no right to complain if there's no food left for you when you finish this thing."

I agreed with her and we sat on my living room's carpet. She placed the food in between us, she had bought chinese food ㅡ my favorite ㅡ and, as I expected, fried chicken. Eating fried chicken during Fridays was almost becoming a tradition to us. I placed some cushions under my body and lay on my stomach, Sunny did the same beside me after finishing her meal, and we opened the script's package together.

"Stupid Cupid," I started to read the first page "ELLA. I suppose I'm Ella?"

Sunny just shrugged. "Let's read."

"Wow, Sunny, wow, this is..." I started some minutes after starting to read.

"Yeah..." she nodded "This is something."

"This is actually awesome, Sunny! This is great for me. I haven't had the chance of showing all of my acting skills yet, this will start to show people what I'm capable of. I wasn't expecting it to be such a different character, now I'm even more excited."

"So, you'll take it?"

"Of course I am! I want the number of Mr... Mr... Mr. Cox, right? I want Mr. Cox's number. I want to speak to him directly about this."

Sunny chuckled over my excitement and handed me her phone, already calling the director. I wasn't sure if I was nervous, excited or both.

" _Hello?_ " I heard him say.

"Hello, Mr. Cox. This is Tiffany Hwang," I smiled

" _Oh, Ms. Hwang, my dear! I presume you read the script Ms. Lee got you?_ "

"I sure did," I said, still smiling "I just called you to say that I'll take it."

" _Great! Fantastic, this is just fantastic! Your partner just confirmed her taking her role, too. I'm bubbling with excitement right now, I believe from now on it's all downhill._ "

"Oh, did she?" I wasn't expecting any news from my partner until the beginning of the filming. "May I know who is she?"

" _Sure, my dear. It's Taeyeon Kim. You know her, don't you?_ "

Jesus _FUCKING_ Christ.

"Uh... Yeah... Yeah yeah, of course I do..." Oh. My.

" _Good. I think you two are perfect for your respective roles. I can picture you two making a great pair. Listen, Ms. Hwang, I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I still have a lot of work to do. Oh, but by the way, I want you and Taeyeon to meet as soon as possible, and I want to see you both too. Is Monday 9AM good for you? It's probably the only time of the day I'll be free._ "

"Yes, Monday is good. Thank you, Mr. Cox. Bye!" I said as I hung up the call.

I just stood there with a desperate but blank face.

"Hey!" Sunny poked my arm "Wake up. What happened?"

"I'm going to be sharing the screen with Taeyeon Kim."

"NO WAY," Sunny said, as she widened her eyes.

I just nodded.

"OHMYGOD Tiff, you are with the big ones now! This is awesome!" She started to clap.

"Yeah, it is, but Sunny, she is so... She is she, you know?" I sighed "What if I get too nervous and mess up? I can't mess up when working with someone like her."

"Hey, hey," Sunny hugged me from the side "Don't worry, okay? You're always so full of self-confidence it's almost enviable. Use that. You'll do great in the movie and you'll do great with her, okay?"

I smiled. Sunny was definitely a great friend and manager.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

I was finally in my dream land when I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I picked it up with my eyes still half closed.

"Hello, Taeyeon Kim speaking," I lazily said.

" _Ms. Kim? Am I interrupting something?_ "

I recognized the voice as Mr. Cox's and immediately sat on my bed and recomposed myself, cleaning my throat.

"No, Mr. Cox, of course you aren't. Is there anything wrong?"

" _No, everything is perfectly fine. I just called you to tell you your partner just confirmed her participation and that I want you to meet and I also want to see you both. Are you free on Monday 9AM?_ "

"I guess I am, I have to talk with my manager. But don't worry, if not, I'll cancel any other plan. I'll be there," I said before making a small pause "Can you tell me who is she?"

" _You girls are curious, she made me the same question,"_ he chuckled _"It's Tiffany Hwang_."

I mouthed an 'O'. Tiffany Hwang. I had heard about her.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Cox. Have a nice day."

" _You too, Ms. Kim,_ " he said and hung up.

I stood there for a moment before calling Sooyoung.

"Hey, Soo?" I said as she picked up.

" _Hey Taeng, what is it? I'm eating, you know. Don't disturb me._ "

"I pay you. I disturb you as much as I want. Listen, do I have anything scheduled for Monday at 9AM?"

" _No,_ " she said, making a pause " _Nothing I can remember of. Why?_ "

"Mr. Cox just called me. He wants me to meet with him and my partner then."

" _Oh, your partner? Do you already know who is he?_ "

"Mhm," I said. "But it is not actually a he," I added as I picked up my laptop and opened Google, typing Tiffany's name on it.

" _Aren't they?_ "

"No. It's Tiffany Hwang."

" _Tiffany Hwang?!_ " She sounded really surprised. I bet she only didn't scream because she was in public. " _Wow. She is in some of my favorite movies. She's good. How do you like her?_ "

"I... Well, she is..." I started to say as I went through her pictures on Google "She is a gorgeous woman. Talented, too, as far as I know," I sighed "But from what I've heard, we're really different, personality-wise. I'm afraid that might stand in our way."

" _Hey, chill. Everything is going to be fine. But, if she is your partner... What is this movie about?_ "

"I think you should come over here later and read the script by yourself."


	3. Meet Your Partner

**POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

My Friday afternoon and night went by in a blink of an eye, once I slept during most of it and kept a busy mind whenever I woke up, thinking about my upcoming meeting on Monday.

It was Saturday, next day, when I heard Sooyoung's car's horn in front of my house, telling me she was arriving. I didn't move from my bed, although it was already almst 2PM. She had a copy of the remote control and keys, I didn't need to get up. It didn't take long for her to appear in my bedroom's door.

"Lazy day, huh?" She smiled "Let me join. I just ate a huge meal, and there's nothing better than lying on a big and fluffy bed like this after a good huge mean," she said as she threw herself on my bed beside me.

I just chuckled.

"Welcome," I said "I assume you're here for the script."

"Yeap," she agreed "But I'm too lazy to read it. I can see it is too thick," she pointed out to the script on my nightstand. "Can you tell me the plot?"

"Well..." I began, as I rested my head on a pillow and looked at Sooyoung beside me, lying on her stomach "The story is about these two friends, Leah and Ella, who grow up together but get separated at one point of their lives. Ella moves out of the country, but comes back years later. And when she comes back, she meets Leah again and they..." I made a small pause.

"And they...?" Sooyoung looked at me curiously.

I pressed my lips together before speaking, "And they fall in love with each other."

Sooyoung's jaw dropped.

"I mean they don't actually fall in love like that... In fact, they've always been in love with each other, but they got separated when they were too young, so they didn't have the chance to develop and mature this feeling better... So now that they are adults it is growing on them, and the movie revolves around this experience, it shows how they discovered their love for each other, how they brought back something that has always been with them but that has never been discussed or shown," I nodded lightly as I said.

Sooyoung kept staring at me, blinking a few times, her mouth still wide open.

"Come on! Aren't you going to say anything?" I frowned.

"Sorry, sorry," Sooyoung said as she changed her position and sat beside me "Well, I think it is good. Really. It is good. It is a pretty plot, seems interesting. But I suppose it is something like a romantic comedy? It is not the kind of movie I picture you filming. But I know you will do well."

"Yeah," I started as I grabbed a glass of water I had left on my nightstand last night "I wouldn't picture myself in this kind of movie either, but..." I took a sip of the water "I don't know. It's is good to vary. Specially in this business. People get to see other sides of you... I don't know how this is going to turn out, Soo, but I have a good feeling about it, something tells me that I have to do it." I looked at her before continuing, "And it is indeed really different from everything I've done before, I want to try this. I got really excited when I read the script and also after when I talked to Mr. Cox."

Sooyoung nodded. "I see," she said and bit her lower lip. "But, say, did you get excited because the plot is something new to your career or because you're obviously going to kiss Tiffany Hwang's lips?"

"WHAT THE-"

"I heard that one of her past partners said her lips were the sweetest he had ever kissed," she interrupted me before I could say 'hell are you talking about, Sooyoung?'.

"SHUT UP! I do not want to kiss her," I said as I sipped my water once again before putting it back on the nightstand "I only got excited for professional reasons, exactly because it is going to be entirely new to my career."

"But you will have to kiss her."

"What if I won't?"

"You will, come on," she frowned. "Have you ever seen a love story or a romantic movie without a kiss?"

I just stood there looking at her. Fucking thank you Sooyoung. You know how sensitive I am when it comes to on-screen physical contact. The idea of it ingrains in my mind. Now I will only keep in mind that I have to kiss her. Thank you very fucking much.

The rest of the weekend went by pretty quickly. On Monday, I woke up at 7AM. I knew I still had some minutes in bed, but I wasn't sleepy anymore, so I was just lying there with a million thoughts running through my mind. I was looking forward to meeting Tiffany, but I was also nervous because some freaking real life broomstick that I kindly call Sooyoung decided to plant in my mind that I have to kiss her. I mean, okay, if I have to kiss Tiffany, I will kiss Tiffany. I'm an actress, afterwall. They're paying me for that. But, the thing is... Kissing a girl? I've never thought about kissing a girl. To be honest, I've never even thought about dating. At all. I've never had a real, steady relationship ㅡ which is kind of weird for someone of my age, but I don't care. However, I've alredy kissed so many different men because of my profession... I was used to kissing men, I believe I'm a straight woman, only I'm not interested in dating. That's probably because I love my job way too much to share its space in my heart with some random man. And also, let's be honest here: If having a boyfriend is having to deal with something or someone like Brandon, I'd rather die single.

I chuckled with my own thought. It didn't take me any longer to get up from the bed. As I did so, I grabbed my phone and texted Sooyoung saying she could be here in 40 minutes or something. After that, I made my way to the bathroom and started to get ready. Today was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

I woke up on Monday at 6:30AM. I had set my alarm to 7AM, but I suddenly woke up and couldn't sleep anymore, so I just stayed in bed until I thought I should really strat to get dressed. I called Sunny, she said she would pick me up at 8 o'clock sharp, so that we wouldn't take the risk of getting late. I was dead nervous, but also excited. But maybe more nervous? I couldn't stop thinking about with whom I would be acting. Taeyeon, Kim Taeyeon. She is like, the top actress... What if something goes wrong? I mean, yeah, I can do it. I can do it, I know that. But what if... What if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks I'm too plain or what if she acts nonchalantly towards me or something?

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the bad thoughts. I had to follow Sunny's advice: Use my good self-confidence. I was going to slamdunk everyone's expectations, yes. I had to think like that. I would do great during the filming and Taeyeon would become a friend of mine, everything was going to be fine and the filming will run smoothly for the next months. I would keep these thoughts in mind now.

As expected, Sunny stopped by at 8AM sharp. She has always been very punctual, that was great for her and for me, professionally-wise. I grabbed my purse and came out of the house, closing and locking the door behind me. As I walked to her car, I felt the gentle breeze of the morning. I was dressed in a simple tight black dress and white blazer ㅡ although I knew I would have to take it off because today's weather would probably be very warm. Of course, even though it was almost in its end, what could I expect from the summer in Los Angeles?

"Hi," Sunny smiled greeted me as I entered the car "Good morning, Tiff. Excited?"

"Good morning, Sunny," I replied and smiled back at her. "Excited, but very nervous."

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything's going to be fine," she said and nodded. "Fasten your seatbelt."

I chuckled as I heard she saying that before starting the car. "I thought your obsession with seatbelts was over?"

"It is not an obsession. It's precaution. Do it!"

I laughed again and did as she told me so. Being with Sunny was always great, I couldn't be more happy that I found such an amazing friend in someone that was supposed to be only nothing more than my workmate. I felt like all my worries and my tension would go away during the ride. I would meet Mr. Fox and Taeyeon with a really light mind. Thank you, SunBunny.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

I lazily got up from the couch when Sooyoung texted me saying she was already in front of my house. I took advantage and looked at the time, it was 7:40AM. We would be early, but that doesn't matter. Being early is better than being late.

I'm not very fond of wearing and carrying purses, so I just grabbed my phone and my wallet and put them in my pockets. That's what I normally do. I only wear purses in special occasions, I guess. That's why I almost always wear jeans. Just like I am now: wearing jeans and a simple white shirt ㅡ and sneakers. I made my way out my house and to the van Sooyoung and our driver were in. I entered it and found a hungry Sooyoung devouring some donuts.

"There she is!" She started, spitting little pieces of donuts as she talked with her full mouth "Our little I-am-going-to-kiss-Tiffany-Hwang's-lips-in-a-couple-of-months-or-less girl. How do you feel today?"

"Would you stop the kissing Tiffany topic?" I facepalmed myself. "I thought we had gotten over it already."

"Nope," she said as she stuffed another giant piece of donut in her mouth "I'll keep teasing you about it until you actually kiss her. Then I will tease you about actually kissing her."

"Stupid. Anyway, we're early, aren't we? Can you please stop by a drive-in or something and get me something to eat? I have nothing to eat at home because I forgot to ask someone to go grocery shopping for me... So I didn't have my breakfast. And I won't ask you for one of those donuts because I know you don't share food," I rolled my eyes.

"Good you know. Hey, Anthony!" She tapped our driver's seat "Do you remember that drive-in 24-hour cafeteria we've been to once?" She asked the question to which the man just nodded "Take us there," she continued "Taeng needs to feed herself."

He agreed and I just smiled at him as a way of thanking him. I remembered that cafeteria, too. Gladly, we wouldn't need to change our direction.

I got my breakfast and we arrived at the location at 8:35AM. It was a studio, I should've imagined. As we entered it, we found a lot of people already working on it: assembling this, disassembling that. We were probably where a good amount of scenes would be filmed. Sooyoung asked someone about Mr. Cox, they said he went out just to buy some coffee and would be back at any minute. It didn't take more than 5 for us to see him entering the studio. I think he was a little shocked when he saw us.

"Lord!" He gasped, "If I knew you guys were already here... Why didn't no one tell me? I'm sorry I'm late."

"Don't worry," I smiled "You are not late. We are early, actually."

"Oh... If you say so, Ms. Kim," he smiled politely.

"Taeyeon. You can call me Taeyeon," I nodded. "This is Sooyoung, my manager. She talked to you on the phone."

"Hello, Ms. Choi. Nice to meet you," Mr. Cox said, to which Sooyoung responded with a polite smile and a small nod.

We talked for some minutes about the studio, how the filming would happen and about how I liked the plot. The conversation was good, Mr. Cox- I mean, Martin ㅡ as he asked us to call him ㅡ was a great man, fun and easygoing. Definitely looked like a great director to work with, I'm sure he would do a great job with this movie. I actually searched a little about them on the internet, critics said he was one of the few directors that precisely followed the scripts. If his work came out as good as the script I read, then I have no doubts this movie would be amazing and, hopefully, something remarkable in my career.

Our conversation was interrupted when a member of the staff that was straightening up the studio came to Martin to say that more people had arrived. I turned a little to the entering of the studio and saw two women. One of them was strikingly pretty, I should say.

It was Tiffany. And I presumed the short and black-haired woman ㅡ and what a long hair, I shall say ㅡ beside her wearing a cap was her manager.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

Sunny held my arm as we entered the studio together. I was impressed ㅡ it was so huge! I had never worked in such a huge place before, I think. There were staff people everywhere, you could see they were really hard on whatever they were doing. Sunny also got suprised, and we both took some moments to look at everything we wanted to look. While Sun was still mesmerized by the production, my gaze met a small group of people ㅡ there were 3 people ㅡ not so far away. My vision from far is not that good, but I believed it couldn't be nobody else than Taeyeon and her managers?

One of the 3 people started to walk towards us. It was a man. Sunny discreetly whispered in my ear, saying it was Mr. Fox. I felt relieved as soon as I heard that.

"Ms. Hwang, my princess!" He came to me and gave me a hug. I smiled and chuckled after hearing the 'my princess' part.

"Good morning, Mr. Cox. Thank you for having us," I replied. Sunny just gave him a small nod and a quiet 'hello'.

"Martin. Call me Martin. It's good to see you here!"

"Then you call me Tiffany," I smiled. "It is good to be here too. I see... My partner has already arrived?" I raised an eyebrow and smiled awkwardly, trying to hide my nervousness that had now come back.

"Yes, yes she has. She was early, I was talking to her. I really think you two are going to make a great pair! Come on, let's go," he said as he kindly grabbed my arm and started to walk me towards Taeyeon and her manager. I looked at Sunny and she was calmly following after us. I gulped. This is it. Jesus take the fucking wheel.

"Taeyeon, Ms. Choi," Martin began "This is Tiffany and her manager, Ms. Sunny Lee. Tiffany, Ms. Lee, this is Taeyeon and her manager, Ms. Sooyoung Choi."

 _... Darn it_.

"H-hello, Taeyeon," I smiled nervously and reached my hand out for her to shake it "It is nice to meet you."

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

Martin excused himself and started to walk towards Tiffany and the other girl. Then, he started to walk back to us, bringing Tiffany with him, the other girl following behind. As they got closer, I tried to carefully take a look at Tiffany. She was indeed a gorgeous woman. Much prettier than what I had seen in pictures.

"Taeyeon, Ms. Choi," Martin started as soon as he got close to me and Sooyoung "This is Tiffany and her manager, Ms. Sunny Lee. Tiffany, Ms. Lee, this is Taeyeon and her manager, Ms. Sooyoung Choi."

"H-hello, Taeyeon," Tiffany said and reached out her hand. Do I sense nervousness in her voice? "It is nice to meet you."

"Hello, Tiffany," I smiled and gently held her hand, shaking it equally "It's nice too meet you too."

I think she felt a little better. She gave me another smile, this time a prettier one, it looked like as if she wasn't that nervous anymore, as if she saw I wasn't that intimidating. She had a warm and gentle expression now along with her smile ㅡ I think could get used to that.

"Why don't you girls take a walk and get the chance of knowing each other better?" Martin said as he put one of his hands on my shoulder and the other on Tiffany's "I have some things to discuss with your manager. Go, go." He tapped our shoulders and pushed us gently, making us chuckle a little. We didn't want to disobey the director. Tiffany took the first step and started to walk away and I followed her.

We walked in silence for a minute or two, until I decided to break the ice.

"So," I began, trying to think about something nice to say "How do you like the script?"

"Oh?" She turned to me when she heard my voice, smiling and lowering her face a little. I would lie if I said I didn't find that kind of cute. "I like it a lot. It's a pretty story... Smells like success, I guess," she chuckled.

"Yeah, I like it too," I nodded. "Do you think we can make it happen?

"I think we can," she smiled again.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

Martin told me and Taeyeon to take a walk to get to know each other better. I didn't know what was that supposed to mean, but I started to walk away, however. I sensed Taeyeon following me behind. I think we walked in silence for 2 minutes or something. That silence was already making me uncomfortable, but I really didn't know what to say. I was relieved and happy when I heard her voice.

"So, how do you like the script?"

"Oh?" I turned my face to her and smiled, lowering my face afterwards to try to hide it. "I like it a lot. It's a pretty story... Smells like success, I guess."

"Yeah, I like it too," She nodded. "Do you think we can make it happen?

I took a couple of seconds wondering if she had just asked me if I thought we could make a love story like that happen. But, in the end, I was honest with her.

"I think we can," I replied.

We kept on walking around the studio doing the small talk. We didn't really get to know each other that better ㅡ we just talked about work, getting up early, the types of coffees we liked and the weather. But I think it was a good beginning. We stopped walking when we heard Martin calling us. When we turned to our back, he was walking to us. Immediately, we were expecting him with small, polite smiles.

"Hey, ladies," he smiled just like us. "Everything is all right with your managers. Oh, and by the way, Taeyeon, your manager had to excuse herself. She said you need to take a look at your phone, she left you a text message," he said to Taeyeon. "I have to go now. You, Tiffany, talk to your manager later, okay?" he looked at me. "She has all the instructions."

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

Sooyoung had to excuse herself? What happened? Was she okay? I instantly got worried. I waited for Martin to go away and grabbed my phone. I saw Sooyoung's message ㅡ she said her sister got into a car accident and that she had to hurry to the hospital to see her. I hope she is okay.

I sensed Tiffany's gaze on me.

"Is... Is everything okay?" she asked.

"My manager's sister got into a car accident. That's why she left."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. I will call her," I started to tap my pockets "as soon as I get home and... Wha... Oh, crap."

Tiffany raised her eyebrows, giving me a questioning look.

"I don't have my keys. I left mine in my house, and she took her copy," I facepalmed myself. "And she is with our driver and our van."

"Does that mean you can't go home now?" she asked.

"I guess so," I sighed. "But that's okay, I think I will stay here and wait for her to come back."

"Um..." Tiffany hesitantly started "Since everything seems to be done here for now, Sunny's going to send me back home. You can... Stay there with me if you want to, and your manager can pick you up later. At least it is more comfortable."

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

I watched as Taeyeon read the message she received from her manager. She looked worried, furrowing her eyebrows and almost frowning at her phone.

"Is... Is everything okay?" I dared to ask.

"My manager's sister got into a car accident. That's why she left."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too. I will call her as soon as I get home and... Wha... Oh, crap," she suddenly stopped. I just raised my eyebrows, wondering what happened now.

"I don't have my keys. I left mine in my house, and she took her copy. And she is with our driver and our van."

"Does that mean you can't go home now?"

"I guess so," she sighed. "But that's okay, I think I will stay here and wait for her to come back."

"Um..." should I say this? I will say it. "Since everything seems to be done here for now, Sunny's going to send me back home. You can... Stay there with me if you want to, and your manager can pick you up later. At least it is more comfortable."

Okay, I understand. We just met, we're still a little awkward with each other, but... I couldn't let her stay in this studio for God knows how many hours, could I? And besides, it would be a great opportunity to get to know each other better, as Martin said. I think.

"Oh... That would be good, thank you," she smiled. I wanted to sigh in relief ㅡit would have been really awkward if she said no ㅡ, but I contained it and just smiled back at her.


	4. Slow Approach

**POV ㅡ Tiffany**

It was 10:30AM when we were leaving the studio. I told Sunny that Taeyeon was coming with us and that she would stay with me in my home for some hours, and explained why. She understood, and I think she thought it was a good idea. The ride back home was quiet, we didn't talk very much, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. I was glad and happy for that, I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable ㅡ nor wanted myself to feel uncomfortable, for I know how messed up and nervous I could get.

Half an hour after we left the studio, Sunny dropped by my house to leave us there. We said our goodbyes and Taeyeon gave me a small, polite smile. I smiled back and started to head to my door, with my keys already in hands. I noticed Taeyeon kept looking around, checking the outsite of my house out. I opened the door and entered, invinting her o follow me.

"It's a beautiful house," she said, as soon as she stepped inside. She suddenly inhaled deeply and smiled. "It also has a sweet scent."

"Thank you," I smiled. "It's a french perfume that I somehow managed to put in the whole house."

"I like it," she said as she kept looking around, but without moving very much. "I should do the something like this, too. My house has no scent. It's a good idea."

I chuckled and nodded. I closed and locked the door, taking my blazer off afterwards, as I was starting to feel hot already. I left my blazer and my purse on the small hanger behind the door and turned to Taeyeon, who was now curiously ㅡ but shyly ㅡ walking around the living room, taking a look at the pictures that were placed on the white counter in the corner of it. I started to calmly walk towards her, and she turned to me when she felt I was already right beside her.

"That's one pretty mother-and-daughter picture," she pointed to one the pictures. "Who are they?"

"That's me when I was five," I said before making a small pause. "This," I pointed at the woman in the picture, "this was my mother."

"Was?" She asked.

I nodded and smiled weakly.

"Oh," she understood. "I'm sorry, Tiffany..." She looked at me apologetically.

"Don't worry, it's been a long time already. Are you hungry?" I tried to change the subject.

She smiled shyly.

"A little."

"Do you want me to prepare something for you?"

"No, I don't want to bother you."

"Nonsense," I responded. "You are my guest, I can't let you feel hungry in my house," I saw her chuckling when I said that. "I'm not the best cook in the world, but I can make you at least some scrambled eggs, I believe."

"Scrambled eggs would be good," she said and smiled once again.

Taeyeon complimented my house again once we got to the kitchen. She said "hers would never be so clean and bright." Mine wouldn't either, I thought, if it weren't for my housekeeper. I only didn't tell her that because I don't think it was necessary that she knew I was so messy. I think she would eventually find it out. I would try to keep a good image for now.

"You may have a seat if you want," I said to her as I pointed to one of the chairs near the big white table in the kitchen.

"I can help you. You don't need to do it alone."

"Don't worry," I smiled to her. "I can do it."

She just nodded and pulled a chair, sitting on it right after. I headed to the fridge and grabbed 3 eggs, then I opened a big drawer and picked up the frying pan. I also got a spatula, oil and salt. I put the oil on the frying pan and placed it on the stove, turning it on. Then, the worst part came.

Breaking those godforsaken eggs.

You can make her scrambled eggs, heh? Very intelligent of yours, Tiffany. Only you didn't actually _know_ how to break eggs properly.

I sighed. I was a disaster in the kitchen, I knew I didn't know how to do this as a freaking normal person, yet I insisted to do it. Well, there wasn't no way back. Let's do this, I thought to myself. I mean, the worst thing that could happen would be me splatting all the 3 eggs over the stove, right?

I could feel Taeyeon's eyes on me. I hit one of the eggs lightly on one of the stove's edge and looked at it. Not even a little cracked. I did it again, twice, but still got no results. Then, I hit it stronger, and this time ㅡ guess what? Yeah, I fucking splatted the egg all over the stove. Great. It's just really fucking great.

I heard Taeyeon chuckling silently and getting up from her chair. I facepalmed myself. Yeah, Tiffany, congratulations, you had just embarrassed yourself in front of your workmate in the very first day you two had met. You deserve a motherfucking loser prize for that.

"Can I help you now?" she asked while approaching me.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know I was that bad. I'm embarrassed." Actually, I did, but I think I wanted to pretend I wasn't. I cleaned my hands with a little pink towel I left near the stove and grabbed a new egg.

"Don't be. That's no big deal, really. Here," she approached me a little more, placing her hands on my wirsts, her fingers gently touching my hand and mine ㅡ I thougt that moment was a little... Awkward, after all we had just met; but I didn't complain, it wasn't bad, and I guess I would have to get used to this kind of thing sooner or later, since we would be playing a couple for the next months. She then lead one of my hands to the same edge I had used to break the egg before, making me gently hit the new egg on it a few times, "you have to keep hitting it, but without using strength, otherwise it will break like the other one did." She brough my hand up and showed me the cracked egg, I just nodded lightly. "Then," she held my other hand better and brought it to the other edge of the egg, resting her chin on my shoulder and putting the egg closer to the pan, "you just need to open it like this," she said as she put pressure on my hands using her fingers, making me move them and perfectly open the egg. I watched as it fell on the frying pan.

I could sense a smile before Taeyeon let go of me.

"You do it now," she said and went back to the chair she was previously sitting on. "I'll wait. You got it, right?"

I nodded and smiled shyly. I did the same to the other egg and ㅡ thank goodness ㅡ everything went well. I added the salt and started to mix the eggs together, it didn't take long until it was done. I put the scrambled eggs on a plate and put the frying pan in the sink. I grabbed a fork and a knife and started to make my way to the table, placing everything in front of her right after.

"Would you like to drink something? Water? An orange juice?"

"Uh...," she stopped for some seconds and chuckled "God, I feel so sorry for making you do all of that for me. But orange juice is fine, thank you."

I chuckled with her and went get her the orange juice and a glass, I was back in less than a minute. I sat on the chair beside her as she ate, praying to God and whatever else that is divine exists that my scrambled eggs were at least tolerable. I would steal glances at her here and there to make sure her facial expression wasn't bad.

"It was good," she said after she finished. "Really, it was good. I'm sorry for bothering you... I feel like a brat bothering her babysitter, it's so weird," she giggled.

"It was nothing, don't worry," I smiled. "I'm sorry for being such a mess in the kitchen."

"You are not, accidents happen."

I smiled weakly at her and nodded, then I got up and placed the tableware in the sink together with the frying pan. I heard she got up and put her chair away as I did so.

"Tiffany?" she called me.

"Mm?"

"Do you still have your script with you?"

Interesting question.

"I do," I turned and looked at her. "Why? Have you lost yours?"

"No, no," she stopped for a while, "I just thought it could be good and helpful if we... Read it together."

I arched my eyebrows.

"Sure," I responded. "Why not."

She just nodded and smiled a little.

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

"Sure. Why not."

I was glad to hear that. It would be good for us if we read the script together, I think. It would be a whole lot easier for us when we had to finally start acting, since we would already be familiar with the scenes.

"You see, since Martin said he wants us at the studio tomorrow morning to start rehearsing I-"

"Wait, what?" she interrupted me. "He said that? How come I didn't know it?"

I shrugged. "I think he told your manager... Sunny, right? I think he told your manager Sunny and she forgot to tell you. Lucky you I told you now."

"Yeah. Thank you. I think we should really read it, then. I've read it just once," Tiffany said as she guided us both back to the living room, making her way to the huge beige couch.

"Me too," I nodded. "So, where is it?"

She pointed to the corner of the couch as we approched it and I saw the script there. She grabbed it and sat on the couch, taking off her shoes and crossing her legs, laying her back on the couch comfortably. I sat beside her, keeping my distance.

"You can take your shoes off too, if you want," she smiled. "Make yourself at home."

I took off my sneakers and placed my legs beside my body. I smiled at Tiffany as a way of saying 'thank you'. I laid my back on the couch like she did, and she picked up the script. I looked at it.

"Ella is a pretty name."

"So is Leah," she chuckled. "I think it suits both of us, don't you?" she looked at me.

"I guess."

As Tiffany flipped the pages that contained scenes that we weren't meant to do ㅡ since younger actresses would film it, in order to tell our characters' stories ㅡ, I decided to talk to her a little more. I have to admit I liked it.

"Do you think they're going to make us film the scenes in the sequence they are in the script or do you think they'll change it? I've been in a few movies that had this messed up filming schedule, there was one point I didn't even know the story anymore, I was just there interpreting what I had memorized," I said and looked at her.

"Hm... I don't think we'll have to go through this. Martin seems to be a great director, I think he'll let things flow naturally, just like in the script," she smiled to me. "Also, I think he knows it would be better if we precisely followed the original sequence of the scenes."

"Really? Why?"

"Uh... I think it would be easier for us to get used to each other if we didn't rush any scene, you know, our acting would become more natural because we would start to get closer to each other... I think he thinks like that, too."

Her words replayed in my mind. She was right. I nodded.

We finally started to read the script together, silently. So far, there wasn't one single thing we thought that needed to be changed, but that idea change as we start to film, I thought. We were already coming to the part where Lean and Ella finally get together. I knew there was a kiss, of course, we both knew, afterall we had read the script by ourselves before, although I still thought that maybe it wasn't really necessary. I mean, it's not like I didn't want to kiss her or something, it's just that... I don't know. But I don't care. I guess I'm just a little nervous since all about this movie ㅡ since the plot to my romantic partner ㅡ is so new and different to me.

I shifted a little on my seat as I noticed we had reached the kissing scene. I quickly looked at Tiffany and she apparently remained calm, as if it was nothing much. I mean, yeah, it was nothing much. Tiffany was normal. I guess I was just a little uncomfortable because I kept on remembering what Sooyoung told me about what one of her ex-workmates said about kissing Tiffany. I took a discreet glance at her lips. Pretty, I thought. It wouldn't be any sacrifice.

I shook my head lightly as the thoughts of kissing Tiffany were already disturbing me somehow. Tiffany noticed it and looked at me.

"Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah, I just accidentally spaced out," I lied.

We finished the script calmly and talked about it afterwards. The tension had gone away. We agreed on everything we said, and we decided to work closely with Martin to make the scenes even more realistic and better. We wanted to make the best of the great story we had in hands. It was not the first movie that talked about homosexuality, but we saw it as a unique one.

An hour and a half had gone by since I arrived her house, and I had received no news from Sooyoung. I was worried, but I didn't want to call her, I was afraid I would interrupt something or disturb her. I decided to just wait for her call and enjoy my time here with Tiffany.

"Hm, it seems like we have nothing to do," Tiffany said and chuckled, bringing me back from my thoughts "do you want me to show you around the house? You looked a little... Curious when you arrived here."

"Did I?" I chuckled with her. "Yeah, that would be nice. I bet the rest of your house is as pretty as what I've seen so far."

We got up from the couch, leaving our shoes behind. She led me to the second floor and showed me each room, including hers. Her house was indeed beautiful. I liked how it had only light and bright colors all around, like white, beige and pastel colors. I also noticed a lot of pastel pink things, specially in her bedroom. It looked like she really liked pink. The thought made me smile a little. We went back to the first floor and she showed me the dining room and a second living room, this one containing even bigger sofas and also a wide TV. I believed that was probably a room used by her to have a good time with her friends.

"I think that's all..." she said as we headed back to the living room we were in "Oh, wait! I haven't shown you my backyard. Do you want to see it?"

I said yes and she led me to her back door. When she opened and I saw yer backyard, I was really taken aback. It was so pretty and bright! It was almost like a park. I noticed that she had several small plantations of violets, that made me happy. Violets were my favorite flowers. Then, I saw a huge pool.

"You have a pool, too? That's cool! I have one in my house, but... I never used it..." I said.

"Really? You live in Los Angeles, California, own a pool and never used it?" She sounded impressed and crossed her arms, supporting her body by the arm that was now resting on the door. "Why not?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I'm usually by myself at home, I don't really have many friends, and I think going to the pool by yourself is so boring. What would you do alone in the water while burning in the sun, anyway?"

"Mhm. Do you want to go in?"

"What? In your pool?"

She just lifted her eyebrows and nodded slightly.

"I... I..." I didn't know what to say. God help me, what was I supposed to say, anyway?

"I don't have a swimsuit," I said. Damn it, Taeyeon. Damn it. What a fucking idiot you are. 'I don't have a swimsuit'? Seriously?

Tiffany stared at me for some good 5 seconds before laughing. "I can lend you one, if that's the problem."

"Uh... Okay, then. It will be good, I guess," I finally agreed.

"Come," she said as she signed me to follow her to the second floor of the house again.

I was at one of the bathrooms, getting dressed. She got me a plain white bikini that, surprisingly, fitted me perfectly. I took out a hair rubber from one of my jeans' pockets and pulled my hair up, tying it in a messy bun. I folded my clothes, placed them on the bathroom's counter and grabbed the towel Tiffany gave me, wrapping it around my body. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw her closing her bedroom's door, already in her swimsuit like me.

And holy Mary and Jesus fucking Christ, what was that. Indeed, the google pictures were nothing near what she truly was in person. I felt intimidated, my body looked like a kid's near hers. She was wearing this bikini that ㅡ I believed ㅡwas just like mine, only hers was black. She held a pink towel on one of her arms and a sunscreen in one of her hands. She smiles to me when she saw me.

"Hi, glad you're ready," she approached me. "Do you usually put on sunscreen?"

I could just timidly nod. "Yes, I do. If I don't, my skin turns really red. I end up looking like a shrimp." Fuck you Taeyeon, what's with the shrimp? Are you for real? A SHRIMP? I mentally kicked myself.

She laughed at my comment, "So does mine. Let's go, we can help each other downstairs."

We went down the stairs and made our way to the backyard. When we got to it, she placed her towel on one of these two huge white beach chairs and sat on it. She poured a bit of the sunscreen on her hand and started to spread it over her arms, chest, stomach and legs. I placed my phone and my towel on the other chair and looked at her. She noticed me and handed me the sunscreen, I did the same as she did previously. When I was done, I saw her looking at me shyly.

"Could you help me? I can't spread it on my back..."

' _Fuck. Shit. Crap. Mother of god. Oh my ice creams. Holy fricking fracking loving Joseph Mary and Jesus. Spread. Back. Sunscreen. On Tiffany. Shrimp. Wait, why are you nervous, Taeyeon? What the hell is with the shrimp again?_ ', I thought to myself.

I nodded and sat on her chair behind her. I poured the sunscreen on my hands and placed them on her upper back, slowly starting to spread it. I poured some more sunscreen and started to spread it on the rest of her back.

"Have you..." I started and gulped, "Have you put it on your neck yet?"

"My neck..." I heard her whispering. "No, I don't think I did. I mean, I don't remember."

I nodded, although she couldn't see me. I was already there, right? Stopping now just because of a neck would be nonsense. My hands made their way back up to Tiffany's shoulders and after that I started to spread the remaining sunscreen on my fingers all over her neck. That felt so wrong but so normal.


	5. Summer Afternoon

**POV ㅡ Taeyeon**

After I finished putting sunscreen on Tiffany, she did the same on me and we decided to wait a few minutes for it to dry. We were still just sitting on the chair when I decided to get up and walk to the pool and put my toe in the water to feel its temperature.

"You know, I've never been very fond of summer, I've always preferred winter," I said. "But now I feel excited about going to the pool. I guess I've just spent too much time without trying to enjoy summer."

Tiffany chuckled. "Well, and I've always been very fond of summer. Summer sounds like fun to me," she smiled. "But, say, do you like ice cream?"

I turned my head to her excitedly.

"I love it!"

"Great. I have chocolate ice cream in my freezer. I'll go get some, okay?"

I just nodded and smiled. Ice cream! Yes! It's been a few weeks since I've had ice cream for the last time. During the week I would always leave my home in the morning and come back almost at night, I was never in the mood for ice cream. But now I was.

She came back with two big mugs, each of them filled with chocolate ice cream to the top. She handed me mine, but before starting to eat, we decided to finally get in the water. It was a little cold at first, but we got used to it and then we were just enjoying it. We supported our arms on its borders while eating.

"I have to tell you," I started "I googled you."

She looked at me for a few seconds before laughing and putting her hand in front of her mouth, once she had it filled with ice cream.

"Taeyeon Kim googled me? May I ask why?"

"I did," I chuckled. "I, you know, I had heard about you, but I didn't know much. So I decided to google you, I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't. I know a lot of people do that, anyway," she smiled. "What did you find out?"

"Uh... I found out that your most famous role was a spy, that you are only a few months younger than me and that Matthew Reynolds declared himself addicted to your lips," I said as I contained my laugh and stuffed my mouth with ice cream.

"Oh, gosh," she said as she closed her eyes and laughed, resting her forehead on the pool's border for a brief moment before turning to me again "Matthew Reynolds was such a pain in the neck!"

"Was he?"

"Yeah," she assured. "He was one of my first pairs, you know, I think I was romantically involved with him in my second or third movie. We filmed a few kissing scenes, it was just acting for me, but he kept going after me saying I was amazing and that he was bewitched. When we wrapped up our filming and after our promotions, whenever he was asked to talk about me, he would invariably mention my lips. I was so embarrassed."

By then I was already laughing.

"Well, I feel your pain," I looked at her and picked up my mug, holding it with one of my hands and turning my body, resting my back on the pool's wall "I went through something similar with Brandon Collins, he was my workmate and we had to fake a relationship for the sake of the movie's profits, but it looked like he didn't know the difference between the real and the fake," I chuckled.

"Hold up. You mean to tell me that your relationship with Brandon Collins was staged?" she said as she looked at me, surprised.

"Did you know about it?"

"Come on! The whole Hollywood used to talk about that!"

"I guess I'm not that into what Hollywood talks about, then," I smiled weakly "but yeah, it was fake. But he still bothers me, though. Thank goodness he doesn't have my personal number, I would go crazy if he did. Sooyoung picks up calls from him at least three times a week," I said and rolled my eyes.

"These boys... They can't see a pretty woman that they already think they're in love," she shook her head. "How did you handle it?"

"Uh.. You know, like, the show business asked for it. There was nothing I could really do but go for it. It would have to end sooner or later, anyway. And we weren't close, we wouldn't even handle a conversation if we weren't on camera, though we did go out twice or something to make the whole story more reliable," I said as I finished my ice cream and put the mug out of the pool, going back to my previous position afterwards "but I felt a little dumb doing that. I don't think I would do it again. It feels very dishonest."

She nodded and put her mug away like I did.

"I understand. I don't think I could do it. I mean... I'm an actress, acting is my job, but... That's like, on screen, you know? To entertain people. I think faking love like that could even hurt me. I know it sounds silly," she smiled "but I think it's the kind of thing that has to be entirely sincere."

"Yeah, it does," I smiled back. "But, you know, despite that, all I've read about you were good things."

She laughed again. "Yeah? Like what?"

"Everyone says you're one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood and that, if someone doesn't like the genre of your movies, they should still watch them only for your face," I chuckled with her. "You should feel flattered, I was never that praised for my looks, only for my skills."

"Isn't that better?"

"Well, it's good," I nodded "but being recognized for my beauty like you are would also be," I pouted.

"Come on!"she laughed, "I think it is better to be praised by your skills. I think we should feel flattered for each other, then."

"I guess," I giggled.

The talk died down for one minute or two before Tiffany decided to break the silence.

"You've been in this business since very young, haven't you? What made you want to become an actress?"

I stood there for some seconds replaying her question in my head before finally answering it. What made me want to become an actress? What made me want to become an actress?

"You see," I licked my lips and pressed them together "I have always loved to act. Since I was very little. But I was definitely too young to understand what that meant or what it could bring to my future, I had no idea it could be a professional career... Well, I didn't even know what a profession was," I chuckled. "But my mom brought me to this audition and I passed, that's where it all began. I've been a Hollywood actress since then. I love my job, but... I wasn't born to be famous, if you understand me. Sometimes it scares me. Sometimes I wish I could be successful in what I do without being famous and known everywhere."

She listened to me carefully and nodded while smiling weakly when I finished talking. "I understand you," she said. "It is definitely not an easy task. It deprives us of a lot of things normal people do and have. I guess it's the price to pay for choosing to do such a thing for a living."

"Yeah, I think so," I agreed. "How about you?"

"I was very shy when I was a kid, I wouldn't talk properly to anyone, so my mom decided o enroll me in this drama class when I was around 5 or 6. I became more outgoing since then and fell in love with acting. But I never considered becoming a professional actress, I thought I wouldn't have any future. But then I started high school and couldn't indentify with any profession, I was already going nuts because I had to choose a college and something to study and nothing would interest me. That was when I decided to choose acting, it was the only thing I knew how to do well," she chuckled. "I think I've made the right choice."

I smiled at her and our conversation continued. We would talk about any and everything, that tension and anxiety when we were around each other went away and we both could feel we were more comfortable now, I could already see a friend in her. It's funny, I had never been so comfortable with a workmate so quickly, specially the one that would be my romantic pair in the movie, but with Tiffany everything was easier. Maybe because this time it was a girl and girls understand girls better than boys understand girls? She was a fun person to be around and easy to talk to, no wonder everyone likes her so much. We were so excited about our talk and about getting to know each other better that I didn't even bother the scalding sun on me. I was happy. I hadn't had such a fun time during summer in ages.

We continued talking for two hours or something before I heard my phone ringing. I got out of the pool and went to the chair where I had placed my phone earlier, the caller ID said it was Sooyoung and I immediately picked up.

"Sooyoung! Thank goodness you're calling. How are you? How is your sister?"

"Hey, Taeng. I'm fine, thanks. Soojin is fine in her own terms. She fractured a leg and will have to stay at the hospital for a few days. She also has a cut on her head, but at least she's conscious. I have to go back to the hospital to see her tomorrow, if you don't mind..." her voice sounded weak. Poor Soo.

"No, of course I don't. Take your time, I'll give you a break if you need to."

"No, I will continue with you, I'll be okay if you only give me these relatively brief breaks during the day when I need to. Thank you. I'm sorry for this, Taeng..."

"It's not your fault, Soo. Don't apologize. I'll only be rehearsing this week, anyway. Don't worry."

"Thank you, really," she sighed. "Hey, me and Anthony are heading to the studio to pick you up. We'll be there in 10 minutes."

"Um.. Actually, Soo, I'm not at the studio."

"Huh? Where are you?"

"I'm..." I looked at Tiffany, who was just swimming around "I'm at Tiffany's place. Her manager brough us here."

"Ooooh," she said. Crap. I knew it. I knew it, she's going to tease me for the rest of my life, I knew it. It's ridiculous how Sooyoung sees everything as something mischievous. "Can you give me her address, then? I still need to pick you up. Unless you want to sleep there."

I ignored the last comment.

"I will ask her to type it down and I'll send you. Bye."

I started to make my way back to the pool with my phone in hands when Tiffany noticed me.

"Was it your manager? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she and her sister are okay, she said her sister is recovering slowly and will have to stay at the hospital for a few days." I gave her a weak smile. "Can you type down your address here? She said she's going to pick me up now, she has already left the hospital."

* * *

 **POV ㅡ Tiffany**

I let Taeyeon take a quick shower and she left half an hour later when Sooyoung came to pick her up. I was happy, I had a great afternoon. She was a calm and comforting person to be around, and I wasn't feeling awkward, uncomfortable or embarrassed to be near her. I think we could be great friends soon, I was sure our work would be neatly and gladly done during the upcoming months of filming.

I took a shower and put on my pajamas, since I wouldn't have anything else to do during the day nor nowhere to go. I lied on the couch and turned on the TV before dialing Sunny's number on my phone.

" _Hi, Tiff,_ " she picked up.

"Hey Sunny, how are you?"

" _Good. I visited my family, just arrived home now. How are things going with Taeyeon?_ "

"Oh, she's already left. But everything went just fine, we had a good afternoon together."

" _What did you two do?_ "

"Well, I made her scrambled eggs, we read the script together and talked about the scenes and how we'd like to work closely with Martin and the staff and then we went to the pool and ate ice cream there."

There was a few seconds of silence before I heard Sunny bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny about it?" I frowned.

" _You mean to tell me you cooked?_ " she said in between laughs.

"Hey! Cooking scrambled eggs is not that big of a deal, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. How many eggs did you break?"

"... One," I said as I rolled my eyes. My answer just made her laugh even harder.

" _That's how you do it, Fany. You invite your newest workmate to spend some time in your house in the very first day you meet and then you embarrass yourself in front of them by failing to break an egg,_ " she said, emphasizing the 'break an egg' part.

"Gosh, Sunny, shut up! You sound like my conscience."

" _Thank you. By the way, Tiff, I received a message from Mr. Cox. There was a change of plans_."

"Yeah? What change? Is it something serious?"

" _No, it's nothing much, don't worry. It's only that they decided they are going to film with the kids and the teenager girls that will be the younger versions of Taeyeon's character and yours first. They were originally going to film with them when they were done with you two, but they decided it would be better if they filmed with the girls first. So, you and Taeyeon are not going to have to start rehearsing this week_."

"That means I don't need to go to the studio tomorrow?"

" _Actually, you do. Instead of rehearsing, you two will be doing a photoshoot for the promotional pictures. They said they want to release some as soon as possible to start promoting the movie, and they also want to pick the picture for the movie poster before everyone gets too busy with the filming, the outfits, the stills, internet promotions and etc_..."

"Oh... I see," I nodded. "Well, I think that's good, at least I have more time to rest, prepare and study the script better. Thank you, Sun. Do Taeyeon and her manager know that?"

" _I believe so, Mr. Cox addressed the message as 'Ms. Lee and Ms. Choi'. Fany, I have to hang up now. I have to feed Prince and take a shower, I'm exhausted. You remember I told you I didn't sleep well last night, right?_ "

"Yeah, sure. Go rest. Give Prince a kiss for me. Rest well Sun, see you tomorrow."

" _See you, bye_ ," she said before hanging up.

I hung up too and sighed. I was pretty excited to start to work as soon as possible, to be honest. But I would try to see this from the positive side, maybe it's indeed good to rest a little and study the script before starting to film. I put my phone down and turned my attention to the TV, hoping there was something good to watch.


	6. See You Soon

**POV — Tiffany**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing at 8AM. I felt lazy and sleepy, it was hard for me to wake up, and I found that really strange, because I'm usually energetic even in the morning, I wake up right after the alarm rings for the first time. I finally managed to get up from my bed, yawning and rubbing my eyes, and made my way to my bedroom's window, only to open it and find out the reason behind my laziness: It was one hell of a cloudy day.

I always felt like that during cloudy days—as well as in cold days, that was probably why I hated so much to work during the winter. It felt like if my body knew the weather, it was very... Curious. I sighed. In the middle of summer, at 8AM, the sun should already be shining bright. But it wasn't, so I concluded it was going to be like that throughout the whole day and suddenly felt unmotivated, but got over it soon.

I took a quick shower and picked my favorite skinny jeans and a light pink shirt to wear. I finished my outfit with a pair of flat sneakers that almost matched perfectly the bland color of my shirt. I was ready after 20 minutes, and that was actually a record to me. I called Sunny and asked for her to pick me up. I did have my car, but since Sunny and I worked together and she needed to be following me all the time, there was nothing more reasonable than going to work together and that was why she would always pick me up. I was praying that I wouldn't be late, I still wanted to stop by somewhere to grab something to eat, I had almost absolutely nothing edible in my house, it was a shame. I couldn't even have my breakfast there.

It didn't take Sunny very long to arrive and I quickly left my house and entered her car. We stopped by this cute, small bakery that we had just found and bought some marvelous, delicious pastries. They were so delicious that we had to control ourselves to not eat too much. We made a deal that we would frequent that bakery very often from now on. We also bought two boxes full of extra pastries and decided to bring them to the people and staff in the studio. Well, it was my idea, but Sunny found it great. I think everyone would love as much as we did.

We arrived the studio and it wasn't as crowded as yesterday. Maybe because it was too early, or maybe just because the heavier work would start only later, so they didn't need many people for now. I noticed Taeyeon and her manager were already there, sitting on a small couch, near the dressing room, Sooyoung was talking to Martin and Taeyeon was just doing something with her phone. I signed where they were to Sunny, and we started to approach them.

"Good morning," I greeted them. Martin instantly turned to me. He was aways so considerate.

"Oh, Tiffany, my dear!" he came to me and hugged me, "Good morning!"

I chuckled. What a warm way to greet someone. Martin was lovely.

"Hello, Taeyeon. Good morning," I said as I looked at her and smiled. "Hello... Sooyoung, right?" I turned to her manager and she responded me with a kind smile and a nod.

"Well, well," Martin said, "It's good that everyone is here already. We are only waiting for the photographers, Tiffany, I hope you don't mind."

"No, of course I don't. In fact, this is kind of good. I think that if we have a little of a spare time we can enjoy this," I lifted the boxes I had in my arms, a little.

"Oh? What do you have there?" he asked. I saw Taeyeon paying careful attention to me.

"Well, I was hungry when I left my house, so Sunny and I decided to get something to eat. We stumbled upon this adorable bakery and tried delicious pastries that we instantly fell in love with," I smiled. "And we decided to buy some more to share with everyone here."

* * *

 **POV — Taeyeon**

"Well, I was hungry when I left my house, so Sunny and I decided to get something to eat. We stumbled upon this adorable bakery and tasted delicious pastries, we fell in love with them. And we decided to buy some more to share with everyone here," I heard and saw Tiffany say.

Food! Pastries! Thank you, Tiffany! I was starving!

"Wait, did someone say pastries? Food?" Sooyoung got up and started to approach Tiffany, who was still holding the boxes. Sooyoung... Don't you dare to even try.

"Hey!" I grabbed her arm, "Control yourself!"

Sooyoung pouted and I heard Tiffany chuckling.

"Don't worry, Taeyeon," Tiffany looked at me, "I think there's more than enough for everybody. Here," she placed one of the boxes on my lap and opened it, laying the other one beside me on the couch and opening it equally, "Get one. You too, Sooyoung, and you too, Martin," she smiled at them both.

She then started to walk away, and I saw her making her way to the few staff members that were present in the studio at that hour. She politely talked to each of them, and then, one by one, they started to come here and get one pastry each. They had these satisfied, happy looks on their faces, every single one of them, and Tiffany was smiling brightly, like if she was proud of herself and proud of making people happy and pleased. Now, that was lovely. I had never seen someone doing that before, everyone I had worked with was always so busy and focused... What Tiffany was doing was just... Outstanding. It was amazing. I admired that a lot, I think that made me start to admire her a lot. I uncounsciously smiled.

I looked at the open box on my lap and looked at the pastries. Indeed, they had bought so many that everyone could get it, maybe each person could even get two. I took one myself, it had a strawberry on top of it and a chocolate cream inside, and took a bite. It was delicious! She would have to give me the name and the address of this bakery later, I wanted to buy a lot of these and spend the rest of my life eating it. It was wonderful, oh my God.

I saw Tiffany approaching us again and then looked at Sooyoung and, when I did so, I widened my eyes. That daughter of a holy cow was eating two pastries! Two! At the same time! She had one in each hand and she would take a bite of one and then of the other.

"HEY!" I almost yelled, "What's wrong with you?"

She just showed off her tongue. Gosh, how old was she?

"So?" Tiffany said as she sat on the same couch I was seated, "How do you guys like it?"

"Delicious! Simply delicious!" Martin said, his mouth still stuffed with food. "If you bring this to us at least once a week, my dear... I would be the happiest man alive."

"And I would be the happiest woman alive!" Sooyoung said, licking her fingers after finishing her _two_ pastries. She looked at Tiffany, then looked at me, than looked at the box on my lap. "Can I..." she started, already reaching her hand out in order to grab some more. I slapped it.

"Don't you dare!" I said.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed when I slapped her. "Why that?"

"Poor Sooyoung, Taeyeon," Tiffany laughed "Let her eat. The other box is basically still untouched."

"See? At least someone has good sense here," Sooyoung nodded.

I looked at Tiffany, then at Sooyoung, then at Tiffany again.

"But she's a beast! She had already had two! Once you allow her to eat, almost nothing can make her stop!"

"Let her. We have the other box, we can keep that one," she reassured me.

I gave up and handed the box with the remaining pastried to Sooyoung. Once she took it, she had this creepy smile and look on her face. That girl was a FREAK. Tall, stick-thin and eats like a monster. What a great best friend and manager I found.

After I gave the box to Sooyoung, I noticed Martin and Sunny were no longer near us. They were walking around the studio and talking. That Sunny seemed like a nice person... Very professional, friendly, but she was very quiet. Maybe even quieter than myself. I've always been quiet, but... Well, I'm an actress. My job is to entertain and talk to people.

"And how about you?" I heard Tiffany say.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Did you like the pastries?"

"Oh, yeah! I loved them!" I smiled. "Actually, I wanted to ask you the address and the name of the bakery, I really want to go there these days," I chuckled.

"Sure. I will write it down for you, as soon as I find a paper and a pen."

"Ah, I think you don't need to. Here," I gave her my phone, "Type it on the notepad."

She nodded and did as I said. When we gave me my phone back, I read it and noticed a "— Tiffany's bakery" with a ":P" emoji in the end. I had to chuckle.

"Okay, Tiffany's bakery. The place is easy to ge to. I think I can memorize it," I looked at her.

"Good. Go there, take Sooyoung with you, I'm sure she'll like it," she smiled.

I looked at Sooyoung. She was eating the last pastry in the box! The very last! She was already eating the very last one! I'll hit her on the head for that, later!

"She would," I nodded and turned to Tiffany again, "But I'm afraid she'll be broke and diabetic in less than 5 minutes if I take her there."

Tiffany started to laugh a lot and clap while she did so. No sound would properly come out of her mouth, though. It was a funny laugh. And I noticed she had this... This... What was it called? Oh, yeah! Eye-smile! She had an eye-smile. It was very pretty and charming, I think it suited her delicate yet strong facial features.

"I remember trying to do that when I was little," I said. But, crap. That wasn't supposed to be said out loud.

"Uh?" she slowly stopped laughing "Do what?"

"That thing you do with your eyes when you laugh and sometimes when you smile. Eye-smile. I used to try to do that when I was a kid."

She smiled. "What would a kid try to do that for?"

"My dad, he has always been a great fan of eye-smiles and... Ah... Eh... Aegyo? Yes, aegyo. But I have neither, for his disappointment," I chuckled.

"Oh, but you have talent. I bet he's already very, very happy and proud for that," she gently touched my arm and smiled again, this time was a reassuring smile. I automatically smiled back. She was so kind and nice, always. I was already convinced that I was starting to admire to death. I wish I could have this... Sensibility she has with and towards people.

We heard Martin calling us, and we realized that the photographers had arrived. We got up and before walking away, I turned to Sooyoung and gave her a if-you-fucking-dare-to-touch-the-other-box-of-pastries-I-swear-on-my-ice-cream-I-will-finish-you look. I think she got it, because I saw her gulping and nodding weakly. I smirked. Good girl.

Before meeting the photographers, we were stopped by the stylists. They gave us simple, casual clothes, since our characters were just two normal women, and they said those clothes were requested by the photographers. Me and Tiffany were both with jeans on, so we would only have to change our shirts. They gave us these white tops and a lot of comfortable and feminine t-shirts that came in pretty pastel colors. I liked it. Tiffany and I went separate ways to get dressed and, for coincidence, we both put on the white tops first.

We made our way together to the place in the studio where we would take the pictures, and the photographers were all ready by the second we arrived there. There was a blonde woman and a tall, good-looking man. They were very charismatic and nice to us, telling us to be as comfortable as possible, so the pictures would come out exactly as they—and Martin—expected and wanted. They said that the pictures would be very important, I wondered why, although I could imagine. Before starting, I noticed Sunny and Sooyoung approaching behind the photographers and their couple of staff members. They both gave us encouraging smiles, Sunny gave Tiffany two thumbs up. I looked at Tiffany and she seemed pretty confident. I decided I should, too, although I wasn't really nervous.

"Okay, so, good morning girls, Taeyeon, Tiffany, I'm Elise Reed and this is my husband, Thomas Reed," she pointed to the tall man beside her, who smiled politely at me and Tiffany. "We will both be photographing you girls now and we will also work together with you throughout the movie with the stills. It's a pleasure to meet you two."

"Nice to meet you," Tiffany and I said together and smiled. They looked like nice and warm people. And I thought I couldn't be any more surprised. It was unbeliavable how nice and kind everyone I would be working with for the next months was. I was delighted.

The photoshoot finally started, Elise and Thomas told us to sit on the floor that was covered with a gray fabric. We did as we were told, and Elise approached us to put us in the position they wanted us to be: She rested or backs on each other's, linked our arms and told us to rest our heads together. When we were ready, they told us to smile and started to photograph us.

"Come on, girls! Don't be shy! Be comfortable, at least you're not naked! You look great, let's go!" we heard Elise exclaiming and we both laughed.

Tiffany unlinked her arm with mine and held my hand, pulling it closer to her shoulder and smiling at the flashing camera again. I did the same. We then changed positions, well, Tiffany did, because Thomas told her to do so. She turned her body to mine and stayed behind me, then she put her head closer to mine, our hairs touching, and we both smiled at the camera again.

"Wow! This one was awesome!" Thomas said. We were receiving so many compliments and encouragements so far, I was starting to feel more comfortable there. Photoshoots were always a little awkward to me in the beginning, I never found myself a good model or something, but in the end I would have fun, a little. I was kind of used to it, but not used to it at all. But, this time, the people working with me were the best I've ever known, so everything was better, even the photoshoot's mood. That was awesome.

We stood up and Elise approached us again. I wondered what she had in mind now.

"Ok, now, Taeyeon," she looked at me and held my arms, "You hug her," she said as she wrapped my arms around Tiffany's waist from behind. "Oh, and can you lift her?"

"Lift Tiffany?"

"Lift me?" Tiffany spoke.

I looked at Tiffany. She was skinny and fit as hell, she didn't seem to be heavy, even though she was a little taller than me. I was already hugging her, so... I decided to try to lift her.

"Why does she need to- OH MY!" Tiffany said when she felt herself being lifted.

"I can!" I exclaimed, a proud smile on my face. I could lift Tiffany! I could lift someone who was taller than me! Sooyoung would finally stop mocking me saying I was a weak albino dwarf.

"Put me down!" I heard Tiffany say.

"Don't put her down!" Elise said, I could see she was laughing. "This is great. Smile!"

"Taeyeon! I'm afraid of heights!" Tiffany complained.

"You're not that far from the ground!"

"What if you let me fall?"

"I won't let you fall! Stop it!" I tried to assure her. She wasn't heavy at all, I wasn't even tired. I could handle it. I could see she was pouting and I don't know why, that made me burst into laughter. I thought about shaking her a little, but I was afraid I would scare the heck out of her. I held her better and looked at Elise poiting the camera at us and smiled. Tiffany turned to the camera and smiled too, easily covering her nervousness. When Elise and Thomas were done with the pictures of that moment, I put Tiffany down and stretched my arms.

Tiffany then, after fixing her outfit, turned to me and said, "You are strong."

"No. You're light," I replied. We both chuckled together.

"Ok, girls, now... Wait. Damn it," Elise said. "Girls, I have a problem with my camera's memory card. It's full, I forgot to delete the other pictures I had in it before coming here, I'm sorry. I will go to our car and get a new one, it won't take long. A three-minute break? Yeah?"

In less than one minute, Elise had already left the studio and was nowhere to be seen. I took a second to think about her professionalism. She was good.

When I broke away from my thoughts, I saw Tiffany lying on the floor with her eyes closed, then saw Sunny and Sooyung chit-chatting in the same place they were before. I looked at Tiffany again and sat beside her.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi," she looked at me and smiled weakly, "Tired?"

"No. You?"

"Not really. Just lazy," she sighed.

"Didn't sleep well?"

"I did, but the cloudy weather makes me feel like this," she muttered and closed her eyes again.

"Mhm, I see," I nodded and smiled a little. I decided to look away and took a look at the staff and everything that was around us. I was truly amused with the hard, great work everyone was doing, but specially with the amazing and nice crew we were fortunately getting to meet. I decided to speak about it with Tiffany, maybe she'd agree with me.

"You know, I never thought I would get to work with such great people. I mean, I've met and worked with really good people throughout my career, but nothing to compare with those I'm getting to know now," I smiled.

After some seconds of silence, I thought something was strange.

"Tiffany?" I said before turning my attention to her again, only to find the most unexpected thing I could find at that moment: Tiffany was napping. Her face was tilted to her right side, one of her hands resting on her stomach, her breath slow and calm. I tilted my head and kept looking at her, and chuckled after a few seconds. Poor Tiffany. The weather must really affect her.

I got up and made my way to where Sooyoung and Sunny were. Sooyoung instantly looked at me when she saw me approaching.

"Is there anything wrong, Taeng?" she asked.

"No. I just wanted to tell Sunny that," I looked at the shorter woman "Well... Tiffany fell asleep."

"Wait. Tiffany fell asleep?" Sunny widened her eyes. I just nodded and pointed to where we were, where she was lying.

Sunny sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to wake this kid up," she said.

"No!" Sunny and I were interrupted by Thomas, who was still there. "Don't wake her up just yet. We can get a picture from that, a great one. Here, Taeyeon, come with me," he said as he politely took me by my arm, leading me to where Tiffany was. He made me sat down behind her and told me to hold his camera, while he gently placed Tiffany's head on my lap, doing his best to not to wake her up. It worked, and her head was now lying on my lap, Tiffany was still peacefully asleep. I looked at Thomas.

"There, perfect!" he whispered, a satisfied look on his face. "I will walk a way now to take the picture. Taeyeon, look at her. Brush her hair with your fingers or something, you just look at her, do as you please."

I kept looking at Thomas, but nodded. I took a quick glance at Sooyoung and Sunny, they were looking at us. Then I finally looked down and saw Tiffany. I wondered how could she have this ability of taking naps anywhere. I knew it was because of the weather, because she told me so, but still, that was a quite quaint skill. I wanted to giggle, but I couldn't. I shifted a little and placed my hand on her hair, brushing it lightly with my fingers, as Thomas told me to so. Her hair was very soft, she had a gift. She was probably used to dye her hair as many times as any other Hollywood actress, she was lucky to still have such a healthy and silky hair despite that. Well, mine wasn't that bad either, though. I could hear Thoma's camera snapping, but I didn't look at it because I didn't want to ruin his picture. I just kept doing what I was doing.

"Okay, Taeyeon," he called me and smiled, "That was great. Elise will love it."

I nodded and noticed Elise making her way towards us. "Talking about Mrs. Reed..." I said, pointing at the woman approaching.

"Well, well. What did I miss? I'm sorry I took so long, I couldn't find the memory card." Elise said.

"Tiffany was tired and fell asleep. Isn't she precious?" Thomas looked at Elise and smiled.

"She is beautiful. I had kept my eye on her since I saw her very first movie, I always wanted to work with her," Elise smiled. "You too, Taeyeon," she looked at me. "It is a pleasure to be working with you, I think I don't even need to remind you of what you mean to Hollywood."

I chuckled. "Thank you, Elise, but it's my pleasure. I'm looking forward to our next meetings," I smiled back at her.

"So, honey, are we done?" Thomas asked her. "I took some more pictures of them while you were out."

Did he?

"No, just one more picture, I want a picture of them laughing together. Taeyeon, wake her up, please? I'll put the memory card in my camera and set everything."

I just nodded. How was I supposed to wake up someone who fell asleep in the middle of work without freaking them out?

"Uh... Tiffany," I called her.

No response.

"Tiffany."

Still no response. She didn't even move a bit.

"Tiffany!" I said a little louder, poking her cheek, forehead and nose a few times. Tiffany's body shifted a little and she tried to push my hand away. She kept her eyes closed.

"Why are you poking me? Stop poking me!" she complained, still not opening her eyes.

"I'm waking you up! You fell asleep, Tiffany."

"I... WHAT?!" she exclaimed, instantly opening her eyes. She looked at me and her face was becoming red like a tomato. "I fell asleep? ON YOU?"

I heard Thomas chuckling and approaching before I could say anything. "No, Tiffany, dear, I put you there. I wanted to get a picture of it," he said as he reached his hand out for her to grab it and get up. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Tiffany just nodded and got up. I followed her actions and noticed Elise was back, now smiling at us. She approached us and brought us closer to each other.

"Lovely. Ok, girls, now laugh for me," she said.

Tiffany discreetly yawned before saying, "Isn't laughter supposed to come out naturally? What are we supposed to laugh at?"

"Mmm.. You're right," she agreed. "Are your managers here?"

We both nodded.

"Good," she turned to where Sooyoung and Sunny were before looking at us again, "That's them, right?" We nodded again. "Hey, you managers, do or say something funny! I need the girls here to laugh really hard!"

Sooyoung took a minute before smirking. Oh dear. Here it comes.

"HEY, TAEYEON! PICTURE ME RUNNING NAKED AROUND THE STUDIO, WITH AN ICE CREAM CONE ON MY FOREHEAD LIKE IF I WAS A UNICORN, WHILE YELLING 'TIFFANY'S PASTRIES! TIFFANY PASTRIES!'," she yelled at us.

Oh my god. I couldn't help it. I was already laughing so hard I didn't even care my weird auntie laugh could be heard all over the studio.

And Sunny didn't even need to say anything. I took a look at Tiffany, and she was laughing just as hard as I was. We rested or heads on each other's, it was the only way of stopping each other from falling. I was laughing so much I thought I could run out of air at any minute, my knees were going weak and I was on the verge of crying, I had to hold onto Tiffany's arm and she held onto mine.

"Tiffany's pastries, Tiffany's pastries," Tiffany faintly said, still laughing as much as I was, her eyes nowhere to be seen, showing off her eye-smile. And she said that only for us to laugh even more. By then, even Elise and Thomas were laughing, I guess they were already done with the pictures and couldn't handle the laughter in anymore. Sunny was laughing too, hitting Sooyoung's arm repeatedly, who couldn't help it and had to laugh with everyone after realizing what she said.

* * *

 **POV — Tiffany**

After being awaken like that, the only thing that made me feel comfortable again was what Sooyoung had said to make Taeyeon laugh. I couldn't help but laugh together—that girl was so funny! I looked at her and Sunny at one point, Sunny was hitting the taller girl's arm non-stop. She used to hit people when they made her laugh too much. It was like me, I clap my hands when I laugh to hard, only she liked to slap people (not hard, though!) when she laughed, instead.

When everyone's laughter finally started to die down and we were all more calm, Elise sighed in relief and smiled. I liked her, I liked Thomas a lot too, they were great. I was happy to know we would keep working together throughout the next months.

"Well, girls, I think we already have all we need, I don't think we need to change clothes and take more pictures, I can feel these we've got here are already perfect, and I didn't even see them on the computer yet," she chuckled. "You did a great job, you two are two amazing and talented women, thank you!" she approached me first and gave me a hug, then she approached Taeyeon after and did the same. I smiled and sincerely thanked her for her compliment.

I greeted and thanked Thomas once again and Taeyeon did the same, but before letting them go away, I excused myself for a minute and went get the other box of pastries I had bought. I brought it to them, and smiled proudly.

"Here, guys. These are what Sooyoung called 'Tiffany's pastries'," I giggled. "Have some, please, I bought them for everyone here."

Elise took a look at the box. "Oh, we know this bakery! It's delicious, probably the best one in Los Angeles. You have a great taste, dear. Thank you," she said as she took one and gave another to her husband. "We have to go now, girls. See you in... Two weeks?" she smiled politely, "We're both looking forward to working together with you again."

Thomas nodded in agreement and smiled at us. Their few staff people had already put everything away and were ready to leave, in less than 3 minutes everyone was already exiting the studio. I waited for them to leave before making my way to where Sooyoung and Sunny were.

"Hi, Sooyoung," I smiled at her, "Here. It's for you," I said as I handed her the box with the remaining lots of pastries in it.

She looked at me and her eyes shone like a kid's.

"Are you really giving these to me?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. If you liked them so much. I won't eat them, Sunny won't, either, and everyone here is always so busy that I bet they take proper time to eat," I chuckled.

"Whoa! Thank you!" she proudly took the box and smiled, placing it beside her before getting up and giving me a hug. "You are so much nicer than Taeyeon!"

I laughed at her comment and gently returned the hug. "No, I'm not. And you don't need to thank me. Enjoy them, Sunny and I will bring more when we can."

"And where's Taeyeon?" I heard Sunny ask.

Sooyoung looked around.

"I don't know..." she said, "I think she went to the dressing room to change."

"Oh, yeah, changing! I have to change to, Sunny, will you go with me?" I asked.

Sunny just nodded and placed her hands on my shoulders, already pushing me to leave. "Bye, Sooyoung! Nice talking to you!" I heard she say and she smiled. I think they would be good friends soon. Sooyoung waved and smiled back at her.

I entered my dressing room and changed quickly. Sunny just sat there waiting for me.

"So, is Sooyoung nice, Sunny?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's a very fun girl," she smiled. "She's very similar to me, you know. She's only a little louder than I am, but that doesn't matter. At least I will have someone to talk to while you work."

"I agree. I think you two will make good friends. Only..."

"What?"

"You look even smaller when you are near her, Sun," I pointed at her and started to laugh.

"Hey! Stop that! I thought we had agreed on never mentioning my height unless it was extremely necessary!" she frowned.

"Okay, sorry," I smiled and recomposed myself. "But you shouldn't hate your height so much. If it weren't for it, you wouldn't be as cute as you are."

We kept on chatting until we left the room. Sooyoung and Taeyeon were ready to leave and they were talking to Martin, who was excited and smiling brightly as the usual. We approached them and he turned to us in the same moment.

"Tiffany! Ms. Lee! I was here talking about the release of the first promotional picture. We plan to release it next week, yeah? So, if your faces are suddenly in every news article," he looked at me and at Taeyeon, "Don't find it weird," he said before chuckling and making us chuckle with them. "I will miss you two, we'll only see each other one week and a half for now. Give me a hug.

He gave me a quick but tight hug and hugged Taeyeon afterwards. We said our goodbyes, for now, and he walked away. It was just the four of us now.

"Well, I guess our work is done for now, then," I smiled weakly and looked at Taeyeon.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm excited for the upcoming weeks, though."

"Yes, me too," I said and felt Sunny holding my arm, gently pulling me. "Well, bye! See you," I said to Taeyeon and waved to her and to Sooyoung. Right after, Sunny and I and they were already going separate ways. I sighed a little. It would be a long "vacation" week.


	7. Encounter - Part I

**POV — Tiffany**

I threw myself on the couch and sighed. I was bored to hell. Sunny was on a little vacation, she traveled to Florida because her and her family would spend a week in Disney Land. Lucky her. More than a week had gone by since I went to the studio for the last time (it was thursday of the next week after that), and I has absolutely nothing to do. Yeah, the days were going by, and the day we would officially start to film was coming, but I had nothing to do at all, it was really depressing. I tried to go out and enjoy something somewhere, but everything is always so boring and... Sad when you are alone. Well, at least I was able to get a lot of sleep.

I grabbed a package of candies I had left on the couch last night and opened it. I turned on the TV and started to go through the channels while trying to find a comfortable position. I stopped at one channel that I used to watch very often in my free time, and one of my favorite talk shows was starting: Talk To Betty. Beatrice Parker—or, how Hollywood liked to call her, Betty or even Betty P.—was a very popular TV host. She would only invite the top Hollywood celebrities to her show, and she was known for being fun, easygoing and extremely friendly. I liked her a lot, I hope I can be there talking to her someday.

I decided to watch it and turned the volume up. While the opening of the show was still on, I picked up my phone to check twitter, just to not to get even more bored, I had no enough patience to wait quietly. That classic clapping of the audience started, I assumed Betty was already there.

"Good afternoon, everybody. Ah!, it's good to be here," I heard she say. "Today, we have a very special first guest. She's been here four times so far, and I know how we all adore and cherish her. I, myself, am I declared fan, in fact, I believe just like the whole Hollywood and Hollywood fans, right? After a one-year break from the big screen, the biggest break of her career, believe it or not, and after a three-year break since she had last been here, she's back here with us today to talk about her brand new project, please welcome Taeyeon Kim!"

I dropped my phone when I heard Taeyeon's name. Taeyeon? Her guest was Taeyeon? How... Just... What was she going to say? But, either way, _let's watch it_ , I thought.

The audience was cheering, screaming and clapping loudly. Taeyeon came in smiling and waving to the audience, dressed in a simple, sleeveless white dress and white heels. She looked good that way. Simple clothes suited her, I couldn't picture her with bright-colored clothes, to be honest. After giving Betty a friendly hug to greet her, Taeyeon sat down on the white armchair that was placed near Betty's bright red one, still smiling, and Betty sat down on her respective armchair right after.

"Well, look who's here. It's great to have you back," Betty started.

"Thank you for having me, it's great to be back too," Taeyeon responded and smiled politely.

"My pleasure, dear. Look at you! You're even more gorgeous than the last time I saw you! What's your secret? Are you seeing someone?"

Taeyeon laughed out loud and covered her face with one of her palms, crossing her legs and looking at Betty again.

"No, I... I think I'm just lucky to get a better appearance as I get older, I'm not seeing anyone."

"Plans on dating?" Gosh. Betty was always so direct.

Taeyeon chuckled. "None for now," she smiled again and rested her arms on the armchair's.

"Ok, honey, I'm sorry," Betty laughed, "I will stop pestering you now. Let's get straight to the point. You're working on a new movie, right?"

"Right," Taeyeon nodded.

"Can you tell us a little about it?"

"Well, I... I can't, to be honest. We haven't started to film yet, we've met with the director and the main staff just two times, and-"

"Wait," Betty interrupted Taeyeon, "You and who else?"

"Oh, my workmate. My new main partner in this movie," Taeyeon answered.

"Ohhh, that's right! I know who you're talking about!"

"So you already know?"

"I don't know the story, but I know who you'll be working with. You see, I talked to your director, Mr... Mr. Martin Cox, right? I talked to him because I wanted to know if he was okay with you being here today to talk about the movie. But he didn't say anything about the plot, he said he could only talk about your partner," Betty said as she waved her hands in front of her chest in a defensive way. I chuckled. What a dramatic and cool woman. "Do you guys want to know it?" Betty said loudly after she turned to the audience, smiling brightly. I could perfectly hear a loud, echoing "YES!".

"Can I tell them?" she asked Taeyeon.

"Go ahead," Taeyeon smiled, "I'm only here to answer questions," she chuckled again.

"Guys," Betty turned to the audience, placing one of her palms beside her lips, on the side of her face that Taeyeon was facing, "Taeyeon will be working with Tiffany Hwang!" she said in a lower tone, pretending she was whispering, before putting the palm that was placed beside her mouth in front of it, making a 'surprised' facial expression. The audience came together in a " _wooooooooooooooooooooooh_."

Taeyeon just kept on giggling watching Betty's actions and people's reactions.

"Damn, girl!" Betty turned to Taeyeon again, "Tiffany Hwang is a darling in Hollywood. You and her in the same movie would be an all-kill."

"Well, we hope so?" Taeyeon said, making everyone laugh. "We're aiming for success, that's for sure. I believe the movie has a great potential."

"What can we expect from it? I mean, she's very famous for her amazing debut role as a Spy, and you're very known for those kicking-ass female roles that we all love, what would you two together bring to us? An action movie? Thriller? Something similar to your previous roles and hers?" Betty asked, I could see she was very excited and curious. And oh my God, Beatrice Parker was talking about me on her show, with Taeyeon. I thought I was going to have a fucking heart attack. I would _need_ to call Sunny after that.

After hearing Betty's question, Taeyeon just arched her eyebrows and smirked, smiling fully to Betty afterwards. "Who knows. I really can't tell you."

Well, I found that sexy. But decided to ignore it.

"You and your director Cox keep on keeping secrets from us. I hope we have a great surprise with this movie to make up for all the mystery of now!" Betty playfully complained.

"I'm sure you will," Taeyeon chuckled. "We won't disappoint you."

"I hope so. Then tell me, have you met her?"

"Tiffany? Yes... Yes, I have."

I could hear that another " _woooooooooooh_ " echoed from the audience. Hell yeah. People were already liking us. That's how you do it. Thank you, Martin.

"Oh, it seems like my guys here," Betty pointed to the audience, "are pretty excited about it. Come on, tell us more."

"Well I, I met her last week. I received the script on... On a Friday, and on the next Monday I was already heading to the studio to meet everyone, as requested by our director Martin," she nodded. "And then I saw her again on the next day, Tuesday, and we had a photoshoot for the promotional pictures that, by the way, must be coming out soon," she smiled at the audience, that cheered a little, not wanting to disturb her, I supposed.

"Ooohhh, now we're getting somewhere," joked Betty. "Can we get to know when will these pictures be released? Will they come along with the movie's title?"

"I swear I don't know," Taeyeon chuckled, "I really don't know when or how they'll come out. But Martin and the producers really want everything to be a surprise, I doubt they'll release or reveal a lot from now."

"What if I kidnap your director Cox and his crew and force him to tell me?"

Taeyeon burst into laughter. I couldn't help but laugh by just seeing her laugh, her laugh was just so contagious.

"I believe Martin is pretty persistent," she said after calming down, "I don't think he'll tell you anything."

"I see. We'll have to wait, then. But, hey, tell your director I'm keeping an eye on him, huh!" Betty said playfully. Taeyeon just laughed and made an 'ok' sign with her fingers. "But, tell me, Taeyeon... Everyone talks about Tiffany's beauty whenever she appears on a new movie, is she as beautiful as people say she is?"

Taeyeon opened her mouth to speak then closed it again, chuckling afterwards. I wondered if she was nervous? But it couldn't be.

"Yes, yes, she is gorgeous, her beauty is intimidating, up close. She's also a very nice and caring person, good to be around."

"Girl, don't tell me that! I want to bring her here someday, how am I going to talk to a woman that you're saying that is intimidating because of her beauty? I'm already trying to deal with the decline of mine after 45 years of life!" Betty 'scolded' Taeyeon, shooking her head. Taeyeon could only laugh.

"Don't say that, you look great!... And I think you two would get along very well," Taeyeon said and nodded. If I weren't more realistic, I would say she wanted to quickly change the subject to not to talk about me.

... Wait a minute. She was talking about me. Betty P was talking about me. Taeyeon just said I'm gorgeous and intimidating? Betty was talking about wanting to invite me to her show? WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?

"I think that makes me feel better," Betty chuckled and smiled. "Well, Taeyeon, honey, thank you for coming today, I know we just had a brief talk, but listen," Betty said as she sat on the edge of her armchair and took Taeyeon's hand in hers, "I want you and Tiffany back in this show when your movie is about to have its premiere, okay? No excuses and this time you are going to tell me everything! You two! You promise me that, girl!"

Taeyeon chuckled and smiled, nodding her head before responding, "I will be back and I'll bring her with me, I promise. Don't worry. Thank you for having me, it was great to see you again."

The audience started to cheer and clap again and Betty and Taeyeon said goodbye to each other. Taeyeon left smiling as she came, waving happily to the audience. When she was gone, Betty said they would have a break before coming back to welcome their next guest. I put my TV on mute and grabbed my phone again, calling Sunny's number.

"Come on, come on, come on..." I muttered to myself as I waited for her to pick up the call.

" _Hello, Fany? What's wrong?_ " FINALLY!

"SUNNYBETTYPANDTAEYEONTALKEDABOUTMEOHMYGOD."

" _Hey, HEY! SLOW DOWN! What? What is it?_ "

I took the air in slowly and let it out the same way before saying, "Taeyeon was on Betty P's program now and they both talked about me. Betty said she wanted me in her show. Betty said she wanted us both together in her show. Like, BETTY P!"

" _Oh my God, really? That's so cool! Congrats, Fany! Let's wait for her invitation, then. Listen, I can't keep talking to you right now, I'm sorry._ "

I pouted. "Why not?"

" _Uh, did you forget where I am? I'm just about to meet and greet Mickey and Minnie Mouse. And my niece is also dragging me everywhere. I literally can't talk on the phone now, I'm afraid I might lose my phone sooner or later, it's crazy here._ "

"Well, okay then," I sighed. "Call me later. I wish I could be there having fun, too."

" _Don't worry, we'll come here together and have much more fun when you're done with the movie. I have to go now, I'll call you later, okay? Bye, take care!_ "

"Bye, take care you too," I said and hung up the call. Damn, I thought I would be able to talk to Sunny for at least half an hour, maybe I wouldn't be so lonely and bored like I'd been for the past few days. I looked at my watch and it was still only 4:30PM. It was early. I decided to go out and visit that adorable bakery again, I hadn't been there since last week.

I ran to my room and grabbed a purple and white flower-printed short summer dress, matched it with black flat sneakers. I dressed up quickly, brushed my hair and grabbed my purse. I took my sunglasses off and put them on, I wasn't on the mood of doing my makeup and my bare face wasn't that bad. I also picked a white, simple cardigan to take with me, in case the weather got chilly if I stayed out for too long. I went downstairs again, grabbed my car keys and left the house, and in less than 5 minutes I was already making my way to the bakery. I was already hungry.

When I got there, it wasn't very crowded, apparently. I parked my car and got out of it, heading to the bakery across the street. 'Aunt Mary' was its the name. If I ever got to know this Aunt Mary, I would thank her for her existence. I couldn't picture my life without their pastries anymore.

I entered the bakery and as I thought, it wasn't very crowded. And as I entered it... Ahhh, the smell. What a great smell. That place was so lovely, it warmed my heart. I made my way to the counter and chose some strarberry and chocolate pastries, similar to those I and Sunny have eaten the day we were here last week. The attendant placed my order and said she would get it ready in a minute. I nodded and smiled politely before turning to choose a place to sit.

As I was looking through the empty tables—the other occupied with couples, generally—, I noticed someone sitting alone. It was a girl, and... And that girl looked pretty familiar to me. I approached her table and took my sunglasses off to take a better look at the lonely girl. I got surprised when I finally realised who it was.

"Taeyeon?" I called her.

* * *

 **POV — Taeyeon**

"Taeyeon?" I heard someone calling me. The voice sounded pretty familiar. I turned to the person that was calling me and lifted my eyebrows, smiling.

"Tiffany."

"So, you really came," she chuckled. "How about Sooyoung?"

"Sooyoung is taking care of her sister. I gave her some vacations while she doesn't need to be with me. But I'm thinking about buying her and her sister some pastries and going to visit them after I leave."

"That's nice, they would like it," she nodded and smirked. I listened someone faintly calling 'Ms. Hwang', I believed it was the waitress looking for Tiffany.

"Um, I have to go," she said, "I have to take my order and find a place to sit. It was nice seeing you, Taeyeon," she smiled.

"Wait," I said before she walked away, "Um... Why don't you sit here with me? I mean, we're both alone here, you don't need to sit by yourself," I tried to be polite and to not sound too desperate.

She took a couple of seconds before smiling politely and nodding her head. "Okay," she said as she sat down in front of me and raised her hand to make herself visible to the waitress. The girl came and gave her her order, Tiffany thanked her and looked at her pastries. She seemed happy.

"Thank goodness. I was so hungry," she said and chuckled, before picking up the fork and the knife and cutting one of the pastries and putting the piece in her mouth.

"Why are you alone here? Where is Sunny?" I asked.

She finished chewing and swallowed before taking a sip of her water and answering me, "Sunny's on a little vacation too." She stayed there looking at me for a few seconds before smirking and lowering her face. "You know, I was quite surprised when I saw you here," she said.

"Really? Why?"

"I was thinking you were on Betty's show. I forgot they record these shows days before."

She watched me on Betty's show? ... Fuck. She watched me on Betty's show. I didn't know she watched that show? I didn't even know it was going to air today!

"Uh..." I didn't know what to say and ended up chuckling my nervousness away, "So you watched it?"

"Yeah," she nodded as she took another bite of one of the pastries, "I stumbled upon it when I was switching the channels. It's one of my favorite talk shows. I have to say I was quite surprised when I realised you were the guest, though," she giggled. "When did you record it?"

"Ah... Earlier this week. Monday, I think?" and I was hella nervous when Betty kept putting me under pressure to talk about you, but of course you didn't need to know that. But complimenting a woman like I complimented you in national TV was a little awkward, I thought.

"You have a bad memory, don't you?"

I was about to take another bite of my chocolate cake when I heard her question. How did she...?

"Yeah," I chuckled a little, "I do. How did you know?"

"I noticed you would hesitate a little whenever you had to recall when something happened, on her show."

"Good observer," I said as I ate the piece of care on the fork.

"Thank you," she smiled.


	8. Encounter - Part II

**POV — Taeyeon**

One hour and a half had already gone by since Tiffany sat down with me, or something like that, I didn't really care. We had already finished our food and we were having a great time and, just like that day at her house, we would never run out of things to talk about.

"So you mean you're a native Korean girl who doesn't know how to speak Korean properly?" she asked and smirked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Don't put it like that! I can speak Korean, I still use it when I go visit my family," I chuckled at her trying to tease me. "But I was too young when I moved in to the US, I was around 5 or something, I naturally started to use English way more than Korean and I ended up forgetting most of it slowly. Pretty sad, depending on your point of view, I guess. You know, forgetting your mother tongue."

"I see. So your parents went back to Korea? Don't you miss them?"

"I do miss them, sometimes... But we were never the kind of family that felt the need to stick together all the time, you know, we're all very independent and have our own ways to show love and affection. And I try to visit them at least once a year, sometimes when I have some vacations I spend something like one or two weeks there," I smiled. "But how about your family?"

"Oh... My dad and my siblings live in San Francisco, my hometown," she answered and smiled weakly. I thought I might've crossed the line a little.

"And, hey, you are Korean too and you can't speak Korean! Who are you to judge me?" I asked, trying to light up the mood. I think it worked, she chuckled.

"Indeed. But I know a few words and expressions. And I'm half Korean and half American, okay? I was born here and... I didn't get the change of learning how to speak Korean."

"Okay, I'll step back this time," I lifted my eyebrows twice and chuckled.

It was nice how we were in such a good mood, without worrying about anything. We were just there, doing nothing, talking to each other about the most random topics ever. It was very, very comfortable. I couldn't be any happier, though, I was praying for some company, I was alone since the last day I went to the studio. I hadn't even seen Sooyoung since then.

I let go of my thoughts and looked at Tiffany, she was staring out of the window and furrowed her eyebrows a little. "Looks like it's going to rain," she said, "Rain very hard."

"I like the rain, don't you?"

She turned to me.

"Well, it can be relaxing. But not when you're in a situation like mine," she chuckled. "I didn't bring an umbrella, and I have my car parked across this huge street, so if it rains, I'll probably get soaking wet. Plus, I have to leave my car outside at my house because I have a problem with my garage, so I'll get soaking wet again when I'm coming home."

"That's really..."

"Bad?" she asked.

"Dramatic."

She stayed there looking at me for a few seconds before laughing.

"Oh, come on! I thought you were serious. It is bad, I don't like being caught in a downpour."

"Well, I have an umbrella in my car. You can borrow it, if you want to," I smiled.

"R... Really? But, no, I can't. You'll have none then, you need it too. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I insist, please."

I heard the first thunder and then, suddenly, the heavy rain finally falling. Typical of summer. Dear Lord, did I hate summer.

Tiffany chuckled ironically.

"I think we should get going?" she looked at me.

I just nodded and saw her pick up her purse and get up. I stayed ther for some seconds and then got up too, making my way to the cashier with her. Once we got there and started to pay for our respective orders, an old, sweet lady approached us from the other side of the huge counter.

"Well, Meg," the lady looked at the girl attending us, "Look who we have here," she smiled. "Two Hollywood stars! Isn't that wonderful?"

"It is, Mrs. Mary," the girl shyly agreed and smiled at us. We both happily smiled back.

"Wait, Mrs., are you Mary? Aunt Mary? And you know us?" Tiffany asked eagerly.

"Yes, my dear, I am Aunt Mary and of course I know you two!" she smiled brightly. "You are Tiffany, that gorgeous blonde spy and this little one here," the lady pointed at me, "is Taeyeon Kim. Oh, I love your movies, girls! It's such a pleasure to have you here!" she said as she intertwined her own hands, bringing it close to her chest.

"Well, and we love your pastries," I said and chuckled.

"Yeah, we are crazy about them," Tiffany agreed and smiled.

The girl gave us our respective bills and thanked us. We thanked her back and looked at Mary again.

"Thank you for coming, girls, feel free to come back whenever you want to! Think of this place as granny's house," she said proudly, smiling. We couldn't help but smiling back.

"We will," we said together.

"Thank you, Mrs. Mary. It was a pleasure to meet you, congratulations on your wonderful work here," Tiffany shook the lady's hand, smiling even more.

We said our farewells and left the bakery, still smiling. I could feel we both felt completely warm and happy. But, reality striked and I remembered it was raining. Thankfully, my car was parked right in front of us, and we were under the bakery's sunblind. I would just get wet by, well... Taking a few steps.

"Stay here and I'll get the umbrella, okay?" I looked at Tiffany and said, and before she could protest, I was already making my way to my car and opening the back door the get the umbrella I had left there. I came back in much less than a minute. Almost soaked, but at least I had gotten the umbrella.

"Taeyeon! I told you you didn't need to do that. I feel so embarrassed..." Tiffany murmured. Silly.

"Now that I'm here with the umbrella, what are you going to do? Tell me to put it away?"

"No, of course not!" she widened her eyes, I think I scared her. "I just-"

"I'm just kidding, Tiffany," I chuckled. "And... Can I suggest you something?"

"Yeah, sure," she nodded.

I hesitated.

"Why don't you let me take you home?"

* * *

 **POV — Tiffany**

"Why don't you let me take you home?"

Did she... What?

"Taeyeon, I... If I knew you'd get so worried, I would never had said anything about not wanting to get wet because of the rain," I chuckled, trying to hide how surprised I was.

"No, seriously," she said. "I... Geez. I'm sorry if I scared you. It's just that, you know, I have the umbrella you want and I don't mind driving on the rain, I enjoy it. Drive to your house and I'll follow you, then I'll lend you my umbrella again there and then I'll just go home and leave you alone," she smiled nicely.

You know what? You really know what? That didn't sound like a bad idea at all. Yeah. Not at all.

"You know, yeah. Come with me. I'm not going to lie, I've been craving some company since the last day I was at the studio, and you were a great one today..." I chuckled and lowed my face a little before turning to her again and smiling. "Thank you. And..." I said as I looked at the open umbrella above us, "Will we fit under it?"

"Yeah. I mean... I think so..." she said. She seemed a little hesitant. I got closer to her and looked at the umbrella again, nodding slightly. "I think it will do," I said. "Let's go?"

She just nodded and we started to take small steps to cross the street to reach my car. It was literally raining so hard. When I felt my arm getting wet, I instantly turner to it and wiped it. Taeyeon noticed it and suddently hugged my waist with her free arm, pulling my body closer to hers in order to protect me better from the rain. That was... Damn it. I could feel my cheeks burning and my body getting warm despite the temperature's decline because of the heavy rain. Something was wrong, very wrong. Something about me and her in that moment... It was very wrong. But I didn't want to spoil anything. The day was flowing so naturally and nicely.

We finally reached my car and she let go of me in the same second. I looked at her and smiled, despite the hurricane of thoughts in my mind.

"Thank you. See you, then? I will wait until you get back in your car," I said. She just smiled back weakly and nodded, holding the umbrella still for me to get in my car without getting get. She then made her way back to hers as soon as I closed my door, and I waited for her to get in her car securely before starting mine and driving back home.

When we got to my place, it was raining even harder than before. It was unbelievable how the summer weather could be crazy at times. I was a little scared, it was thundering so loud that I could hear from inside my car and the lightnings were no joke. I parked my car outside the garage and waited for Taeyeon. She did the same and was quickly out of hers, coming to me holding the umbrella. When she got close to my door, I opened it and got off the car. I got scared with the extremely loud thunder and looked at Taeyeon, I saw her flinching a little.

"Gee," she said, her eyes a little widened, "And to think it was so hot during the morning. That's why I dislike summer so much," she shook her head.

I chuckled. "I understand," I said as we both started to make our way to my house's door. "But it's been a while since LA saw such a hard rain, I think. It's really scary, it's even so loud and-" I squealed when I heard another loud thunder that was followed by a strong lightning and ran to my door, unlocking it quickly and skillfully and entering the house. I saw Taeyeon standing there with this terrified look on her face, her hand on her chest.

"Taeyeon! Come in!" I called her. No way I would let her drive in such weather.

"Uh? No, no, don't worry, I don't want to bother you," she said, before grabbing the umbrella's handle with both hands and shrinking her body in shock when another loud thunder took place. "Fuck," she muttered.

Freaking stubborn stupid girl.

"Ge the hell in, Taeyeon!" I told her as I grabbed her shirt and pulled her inside. "Would you rather stay there or drive during this storm? You could get yourself killed, you know," I said as I closed the door and locked it.

"I didn't want to bother you, Tiffany," Taeyeon said as she closed her umbrella.

"You are not bothering me. I would be bothered if something happened to you because your stubborn self decided to bring me home just because of an umbrella," I responded. She just chuckled.

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't be," I smiled at her. "What time is it?"

She checked her phone. "6:30PM."

"Good," I nodded, "I will prepare something for us to eat later."

"Last time you cooked you splatted an egg on the s-... Uh..." Taeyeon began, but stopped when she realized what she was saying.

"I splatted an egg on the stove, yeah. And when did we become close enough for you to make fun of me? Huh?" I tried to sound serious, but I couldn't help but chuckling when I finished my sentence. Taeyeon laughed with me.

"Sorry."

"That's okay, Sunny makes fun of me too," I smiled at her. I really wasn't bothered at all. "But, you're right. Let's order something?"

"Tiffany, I... I really don't want to be inconvenient. You already let me stay here the other day and took care of me... I will go when the storm is over, you know how this summer storms are... What if you order something and it arrives when it's already over?" she asked. Why was she so bothered?

"It is very impolite to refuse food when you go to someone's house," I said as I stared at my phone, looking for restaurant numbers.

"Hey!"

"Plus, it doesn't really seem like it's going to stop any time soon," I looked at her.

She frowned. "What am I supposed to do? What's your point?"

"Stay the night, then."


	9. Sleepover

**POV — Taeyeon**

"Stay the night, then."

Excuse me? Tiffany was asking me to spend the night with her? I mean, in her house? ... Why?

"Sleep? Here?" I asked and she just nodded. "Why?"

"Well, if you don't want to, you just need to tell me, you know."

"It's not that! I mean, it's not like that! I just-"

"You just don't want to bother me, I know," she interrupted me and walked towards me, folding her arms. "You don't bother me. What's wrong about a girls sleepover, anyway? It's not like we're too old for that or something. Plus, I have an extra room and you won't need to sleep with me, if that's the problem."

"What? I didn't say anything about that!" I frowned. "I really don't want to bother you."

Tiffany stayed there looking at me for some seconds before shrugging and going to the couch. "Fine," she said as she sat down, "Stay if you want. You're welcomed here, as I said, you don't bother me," she said and went back to doing something on her phone.

What a little brat, Tiffany! Darling, but a little brat! I frowned again. I heard a loud thunder, the rain was still falling heavily as since we had arrived Tiffany's house. The lightnings were non-stop. I sighed and gave up. She was right. I made my way to the couch and sat beside her.

"Do you have some PJs to lend me?" I asked.

She just looked at me and smiled.

I looked at the pajamas I was now wearing. I frowned a little and looked at Tiffany, who was just staring at me.

"Say, you really like pink, don't you?" I asked.

"Very much," she smiled. "Do you want to watch a movie? It's still early to order the dinner and I can't think of anything else to do."

I just nodded and we headed to her room. When I got there, I noticed one thing I hadn't noticed when I was at her house for the first time. It was HUGE. And by huge, I mean really huge. King-sized, maybe. But a king-sized bed was huge, for me. Mine wasn't even queen-sized!

"Do you sleep in this bed alone?" I asked and mentally kicked myself afterwards. What an impertinent damn question, my God. How could it slip out like that?

Tiffany looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

"Crap, please don't get offended," I facepalmed myself, "It's just that your bed is so big. I'm sorry, it wasn't supposed to come out like that. Let me rephrase it-" I was interrupted by the sound of her chuckling.

"Don't worry, it's okay. And yes, I sleep alone in this bed. I've always liked big beds and I could afford one, so... Yeah."

"Whoa. Mine is just couple-sized and I thought that was enough," I said as I approached her bed, trying to keep the conversation up. It was a little awkward to be with her in her room, you know... But I shook the thought out of my head. It was nothing, I believed.

"But mine had to be king-sized because, as you can see," she said, throwing herself on the bed and grabbing one of those Burger King cardboard crowns that was placed on one of her nightstands, putting it on her head and pointing at it, "I am the royalty."

I blinked a few times before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny about it?" she chuckled, although she was clearly trying to sound dead serious. That made me laugh even more.

I got on the bed and got closer to her. When I was close enough, I sat down and flicked the cardboard crown off her head.

"... That was kind of mean!" she said while chuckling. I laughed again.

"You're funny."

"Thank you," she smiled. "No one had ever told me that before."

"Did you show them your crown?"

"No."

"That's why," I said and we laughed again.

After some seconds, our laughter and excitement died down. I noticed Tiffany got quiet.

"Taeyeon," she turned to me, "Can I tell you something?"

"Go ahed," I nodded.

"I'm a little concearned. About the movie."

"The movie, Tiffany? Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows

"Did you notice how people reacted when Betty told them you and I would be working together in a new movie?"

"Uh... Yeah. But they reacted pretty well, what's wrong?"

"It's exactly because they reacted too well that I'm worried," she said.

"I don't understand."

"I don't think they're expecting the... Kind of movie we will be doing," she looked away.

"The kind of movie? What kind of movie?"

"You know... You and I... As a couple. I don't think they're expecting that."

"Tiffany, people do movies like ours pretty frequently, I'm sure you know that. It's no big deal, huh? Why bothering about it?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm worrying too much, I just..." she sighed, "I just don't want to disappoint them. And... Gosh, this is going to sound pretty silly. I don't want to disappoint you either."

I chuckled. Really?

" _Me?_ Why would you disappoint me?"

"I don't know, I mean, you are you, I'm still trying to understand the fact that I had Taeyeon Kim in my house twice. And, you know, I'm just like a newborn in the Hollywood world, and you are this great, experient and renowned actress and..." she made a pause when she realized I couldn't stop giggling. "Oh my god, I'm sorry," she chuckled with me and hid her face in her hands.

"Hey, hey," I held one of her wrists gently and tried to pull her hand away from her face. "Why are you like that? You are so stubborn, Tiffany. Tell me, how many people have told you that you're good?"

She finally looked at me again but lowed her face a little afterwards, I guess she was embarrassed. "Well, a good amount, I think, but-"

"Then why don't you believe it?" I interrupted her. "You are truly good. You are great. I know that because I..." I hesitated a little, "I watched two of your movies this week, and I really liked them both, you were perfect. And there's no way you could disappoint me. Just because I've been in this business for a longer time than you have it doesn't mean I have more knowledge of everything, you know. Besides, what we'll do is something completely new for me too. We're in this together, okay? Don't be like that, I'm nothing special, I'm just a normal person who happens to like to pretend she's someone else and got to work with that," I chuckled and smiled sweetly at her, letting go of her wrist.

As soon as I finished speaking, she gave me what I believe it was the biggest, brightest, most sincere and beautiful smile I had ever seen. Her eye-smiled showed off, too. It could warm any person's heart. She had a gift, did she even know that? Tiffany was a bright and kind woman, but sometimes she looked so... Fragible, insecure. I wished she wouldn't be like that. We all had our insecurities, but Tiffany didn't deserve any. Well, I had felt intimidated by her, right?

I broke away from my thoughts when I saw her opening her arms. I realized she was about to hug me... But she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Did she think it wasn't okay to hug me or something? She then recomposed herself and cleared her throat, sitting better on the bed and looking at me again, now giving this weak, shy smile. No, that was not the smile I wanted to see.

"Are you afraid of hugging me, Tiffany?"

"What?! No, no, it's not like that, I just... It's nothing, really. Maybe it's too soon."

"Too soon for a hug?" I chuckled.

"Well, I... I admit at the beginning I was very awkward around you, I think we both were, actually... But I feel comfortable with you now..." she said, almost like a whisper, drifting her gaze away from me and lowing her face, "And I just tend to get personal with people I feel comfortable with, I'm sorry, I don't know if you feel the same, I don't want to scare you," she nodded. "I'm going to order the dinner, okay? I'll get some japanese food," she said as she got up and made her way out from the room in order to get her phone that she forgot downstairs, before I could even say something. I just stayed there, frowning a little.

The way she acted worried me. 'Was I that bad to the point she thought she would scare me or push me away or something by just hugging me? I like hugs! I like hugs very much, thank you!', I thought. I knew I had these issues when dealing with feelings or expressing them, it was one of my biggest flaws, but I have always been a chill person. And I did feel comfortable with her, I wouldn't mind if she hugged me, specially in that moment, we were having a nice, gentle and encouraging talk, it felt like we had known each other for years although we had only met before in two days. We were getting along so well it was unbelievable. Why did she act that way? And what was I supposed to do, in that situation?

My heart felt heavy. I didn't want to make her feel uneasy or scared around me. She was being so nice to me since day one, she let me stay in her house while my manager was out and now she let me stay here again because she didn't want me to get hurt due an accident because of that heavy, horrendous rain that, by the way, was still falling. She even said in her own sloppy words how much she admired me, just now. And I admired her a lot, too, I was already convinced of that days ago. The least I could do was trying to be as nice and kind to her as she was being to me. I repeatedly told myself to think about something good to do.

The sound of her footsteps brought me back to reality. She was coming back to the bedroom. I was still feeling apologetic and guilty. I know how bad it is to be uncomfortable or unsure around someone, I didn't want her to feel the same. Should I give her the hug she wanted to give me first? Should I not? Should I say something about it? Should I suggest a movie to watch?

"So, I ordered sushi," she looked at me and smiled a little. "They said it will be here in 40 minutes or so. Is that okay for you?"

"Uh... Yeah, it's great. I'll pay."

"You're my guest," she said as she made her way back to the bed, "Guests don't pay."

"This guest pays," I pointed to myself.

"This host," she pointed to her face, "Doesn't let guests pay."

"Touché," I nodded. "But I'm still paying."

She chuckled. "Do you even have money there?"

"Do you think a 25-year-old woman goes out without money? And didn't I pay my order back at Aunt Mary?"

"Well, I didn't see you carrying any purse."

"I don't like purses," I shook my head, "I carry my money in my wallet and in my back pocket."

"What if some delinquent tried to rob it?"

"You know, I think it would be easier for a burglar to grab a purse than to slide his hand through my covered butt to grab my wallet," I chuckled. She laughed at my comment.

"You're right," she said. "I'm a little too paranoid about these things, sometimes."

"That's not a bad thing, though. You take more care of yourself, that way. I wish I could be more like that."

"You're not?"

"No. I'm way too carefree, I guess. I often think I won't ever get injured, sick, or even robbed, in any circumstances. I'm that kind of person. And if I get sick, I think I don't need to see a doctor and try to get better by myself, but by doing nothing but staying home and just hoping I would get better," I chuckled.

She giggled. "Isn't that called being positive?"

"I..." I made a small pause and chuckled again, "I think that's called being stubborn and that therefore I have no relevant rights to call you stubborn."

"So we're even," she said and smiled.

"For now," I smiled back.

Our food arrived almost an hour later and Tiffany brought it for us to eat in her room. She also brought orange juice, the same one I drank when I came to her house last week. She sat on the bed beside me and opened the three relatively large boxes of sushi, then gave me one of the two pairs of chopsticks that came with the food.

I smiled. I was hungry already, it was almost 9:30PM. I grabbed the chopsticks and broke them, then picked up one of the sushis with them and put it in my mouth. Tiffany was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, my mouth full.

"How do you do that? I still don't know how to use this thing!" she lifted the hand that was messily holding the chopsticks.

"I know how to eat with these since I was a little girl."

"But you don't live in Korea anymore!"

"Hey, I might've forgotten how to speak Korean, but I didn't forget how to eat asian food, okay? Here," I put my chopsticks down and held her hand, "You place this one in between your thumb and your index finger, right? Then you hold the other chopstick with your middle finger, your index finger and your thumb all together," I placed her fingers in the right positions as I instucted her, and she obeyed accordingly. "Yes, there. Now move the one you're holding with the three fingers," I told her and she did as I asked.

"It worked!" she smiled. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome," I smiled back at her, letting go of her hand and brushing my fingers slightly through her arm as I brought my hand back to myself. "So, are you excited?" I said before stuffing my mouth with another sushi.

"About what?" she began to eat too.

"The filming starts on monday."

"Oh, that. I'm really excited!" she smiled brightly. "Aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. Specially because that means I won't have to stay home alone for so many days anymore," I chuckled.

"Same here. But I don't know if Sunny will be back on Monday..."

"Where is she?"

"Disneyland with her family."

"Disneyland? Florida?"

Tiffany nodded and took another sushi in her mouth.

"Aw, man. I've always wanted to go there," I said.

"You've never been to Disneyland? Not even as a kid?"

I shook my head. "Not even as a kid. I... I never had enough time to do childish things when I was a kid, I think..." I looked down.

"Why not?"

"I started to work pretty early. I had to mature and grow up before the time."

She pouted a little and stayed quiet for some seconds before turning to me again and smiling. "Me and Sunny will take you to Disneyland, then. Sooyoung can come, too."

"What? Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Sunny promised to take me there once the filming and the premiere promotions are done. By then I think all the 4 of us will be much closer. I think it would be fun to go together, don't you?"

"Yeah, it would be awesome," I said and smiled. It would really be so fun and amazing. "But, anyway, if Sunny isn't back by Monday, just tell me. Me and Sooyoung can come pick you up."

She chuckled, "I can drive, Taeyeon."

"Fine," I chuckled with her, "But I was just saying, in case you need."

She smiled at me and went back to eating. We were eating rather quietly (I think us both were very hungry), but would still exchange some random words just so that the mood wouldn't drop and become awkward. The night was comfortably going by, a nice feeling surrounding us. When we finished eating, she put away the remaining sushis in their box and everything else she had brought.

"Are you sleepy yet?" she asked me.

"Not really. I woke up late."

"Me too. Do you want to watch a movie? Or play something on my iPad?" she chuckled, "I don't know what to propose."

I smiled when I heard the word 'play'. "Well, I love games. What do you have there?"


	10. Bonding

**POV — Tiffany**

I grabbed my iPad and came back to the bed. I sat down and laid my back on some pillows, turning on the device I had in my hands. I looked at Taeyeon.

"Hey, come closer," I told her. "What do you like to play?"

She approched me and sat beside me, resting her back on the corner of the pillows I was using. I noticed that and gave her a better space.

"What do you have there?" she asked.

"I have all kinds of apps, actually. Some of them I haven't even played yet. I have Candy Crush and other similar games, quiz games and even this race game I don't even know why I downloaded. I can't play race games."

"Well, I like cars and races," she looked at me and smiled, "Can we try this one? It could be fun. We can try those quiz apps later, too."

I nodded and started the app. I hoped she would at least teach me how to play this.

 _5 minutes later_

"No, Tiffany, for heaven's sake! TIFFANY! YOU'RE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! TURN THE CAR! TURN THE CAR!" Taeyeon was almost yelling next to me, trying to take the iPad from my hands.

"Eh? I don't know how to do it! Just let me finish this! At least I'm not crashing into everything like before! Stop it! You're distracting me!"

"TIFFANY, DROP THIS iPAD! I JUST SCORED A LOT ON THIS GAME WHILE TEACHING YOU! YOU'RE GOING TO RUIN MY WORLDWIDE RANK!" she said desperately and, at this stage of the game, I was already almost lying on my stomach on the bed, trying to push her away with my elbows while she constantly tried to grab the iPad.

I turned my face to her to tell her to stop doing that and before I could speak, I heard the sound the game would emit when you lose. I looked at the iPad and pointed at it, then turned to her again. "See? You did that," I told her.

"Nooooooooo!" she picked up the iPad and pouted, "My score! My high score! I was at the top, I'm not even in the list anymore now!"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?!"

"Because it is a big deal, Fany!" she stopped in her tracks when she heard what she said. "I mean, Tiffany. It is a big deal. You ruined my score."

I chuckled. Fany was a cute nickname. And kind of unusual, too. People would only call me Tiff, mostly.

"It is not a big deal, stop complaining and I didn't ruin anything! And Fany is good, you can call me like that."

She smiled shyly.

"Ok, now give me this iPad and let me play again! I liked it!"

"What?!" she said and widened her eyes. "No! If I'm already not in the score list, if you play again they'll send me an e-mail or something begging me to delete the app!"

"Well, that's your problem," I emphasized the 'your'. "I didn't ask you to log in with your account. My iPad, Taeyeon! Now!"

She pouted and reluctantly gave me my iPad back. She was cute, you know? She was all mature and professional but now she was showing her dorky and childish side. I liked that.

"I won't play again, don't worry," I said, still chuckling, when I saw that she didn't take the pout off of her face.

She just chuckled with me and lowed her face before looking away.

"Sorry," she said almost as a whisper, "I got carried away. It's just my awkward kid side."

"Don't be sorry. I like your awkward kid side. It's funny," I smiled.

She smiled back at me.

"You're still not sleepy?" I asked, and she just shook her head. "Do you want to watch a movie, then?"

"Yeah. Do you like horror?"

"Um, I..." _I am a 25 year old woman, I'm not going to say I'm afraid of horror movies_ , I thought.

"Oh no. Don't tell me you're afraid of them?" she laughed.

"It's not like that!" I sighed, I think I couldn't hide it. "Just a little."

"What if they called you to film a horror movie?" she asked as I handed her the remote control of my TV.

"That's different. I wouldn't be scared, the monsters and ghosts would be added to the scene later."

"But you still get anxious, you know. They create one hell of a disturbing mood during the filming so the actors in scene can get more involved to it, therefore the scene comes out more realistic."

"How do you know that?" I looked at her.

"I've been in a horror movie before?" she chuckled.

Damn. Was there anything this woman hadn't done? She knew so much, she had experienced so much, she was just so... Inspirational. That's it, she was just such an inspiration. I knew who she was before meeting her, but after I met her... I was almost turning into a fangirl working with her idol. She's just amazing. Kind, talented, wise, fun, warm. I think I just found someone to admire as much as I... As much as I used to admire my mother.

"Hello?" she waved her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry, sorry," I chuckled, "Just... Wow. It there anything you haven't done, Taeyeon?"

"We've been there," she chuckled along and looked at me, "There are many things I haven't done and that I'm... Willing to try, let's say."

I smiled shyly at her and looked at the TV.

"What are we going to watch?"

"Have you seen The Grudge?" she asked me.

"N-no..." I answered nervously.

"What? It's one of the most popular horror movies ever!"

"I just told you I'm afraid of them!" I complained.

"Eh. Let's watch this one. You'll see, it's nothing much."

When the movie was over, I wanted to kill Taeyeon. Actually, I wanted to boil her. No, I wanted to kill Taeyeon AND boil her. I was so fucking scared that I would barely move under the covers and kept hugging a pillow tighter and tighter. I heard Taeyeon yawning.

"Yawning? Are you yawning? I won't be able to sleep tonight! Thank you very much!" I told her, making her laugh sleepily.

"Oh, come on, it is not that scary," she said. "Tiffany, I... I don't want to disturb you, but... I'm really feeling sleepy now, can you show me the room I'll be sleeping in, please?"

"Sleep here," I said and gave her a pillow for herself. "If that Kayako girl appears, she takes you and not me."

"But..."

"It's the least you can do, okay?" I interrupted her. "You scared the heck out of me with this stupid movie!"

She laughed. "Okay. But Kayako isn't real, you know."

"Real or not, at least she won't take me," I nodded. "Royalty, remember?" I pointed to the carboard crown on my nightstand, "She can't take the royalty."

Taeyeon laughed again. "Sorry," she said. "Well, goodnight then. Sleep well," she smiled shyly.

I wished her a goodnight and she turned her back at me, lying down and pulling the covers a little. I did the same, only I turned my back at her. I thought I wasn't sleepy, but as soon as I laid my face on the pillow and closed my eyes, I fell asleep in a minute or so.

It was already monday and I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing, saying it was already 9AM and that it was time for me to get up. I woke up, turned off the alarm and remembered how good my weekend was and how this week had everything to be great. On friday, Taeyeon slept over here and we had a great time together, we get much closer, we even exchanged our phone numbers. She left on Saturday after we had lunch together. It was so nice, it was like having a friend come over to your house and making a little pajamas party... Only this time I was doing something similar to that with a woman I admired so much I couldn't even tell and that... Well... That I would be involved with in my new movie.

I got up and checked my phone's notifications. There was a message from Sunny, she said she couldn't be here today, but that she would be here on Tuesday or Wednesday. I understood and replied her saying it was okay. I checked Twitter, I had gained more followers and I received a lot of mentions regarding what Taeyeon said on Betty's show, and also some asking me why I was so quiet on Twitter lately. Indeed, I hadn't tweeted since I started to get involved with the movie.

I put my phone aside and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. I picked up simple white shorts to wear and a black top, matching them with my favorite pair of flat sneakers, a black one. I really loved that kind of shoe. It was really comfortable yet so feminine.

I was hungry, but I didn't stop to eat anything, I was afraid I could get late. I grabbed my purse and my car keys but, before I left the house, I noticed Taeyeon's umbrella was still there. She forgot it. I took it and left the door, locking it before heading to my car.

In less than half an hour, I was already at the studio. It was way more crowded than the last time. I spotted Elise and Thomas in a corner, talking happily with their cameras hanging on their necks. _What an adorable couple_ , I thought. Then, I noticed the staff. Everyone seemed pretty happy and excited, it was contagious. I was already smiling when I walked in. I would greet everyone that noticed me and they would greet me back with a huge smile on their faces, it was just like a big family. I felt genuinely happy.

"Tiffany! Here!" I heard Martin calling me. I spotted him and made my way to where he was. He was in front of a room, I peeked inside of it and there was Taeyeon doing her makeup.

"Hello, Martin," I greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, my dear! I'm glad to see you, come in, come in!" he said as he gently pushed me into the room. I looked at Taeyeon and she opened her eyes when she heard Martin talking. She looked at me and smiled.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," I smiled back at her. "Am I late?" I looked at Martin.

"No, you're just in time. Here, Tiffany, this is Tina, your makeup artist," he said as he pointed to a young black girl. She was beautiful, and she gave me this happy smile.

"Hello, Tina," I greeted her and offered my hand for her to shake, "Nice to meet you."

She took my hand and shook it happily, still smiling. "My pleasure! I'm a big fan of your movies, I'm so happy to be working with you! I'm so happy to be doing your makeup!"

I chuckled, "Thank you. I bet you'll do a great job."

"So, girls, I'll just leave you here with Tina, okay? Tiff, honey, as soon as she's done with Taeyeon's makeup she'll do yours, okay? I'm sure it won't take very long," Martin said before blowing us three a kiss and leaving the door. "See you!" we could hear him yelling.

I spotted this small couch on the corner of the room and sat down. I took a glance at Taeyeon and she had her eyes closed again. I took out my phone and unlocked it.

"Tiffany?" I heard Taeyeon calling.

"Yes?"

"There's the script somewhere in this room, Martin gave it to me to read it before we start filming. The lines are the same, it only has small changes, but I think you would like to see, if you don't mind looking for it."

"No, I don't. Thank you," I responded. I started to look around and found the script on this small table near the couch. I grabbed it and opened it on the bookmarked page. I took a deep breath before starting to read it.

x

x

...

 **[SCENE #1 - TAEYEON KIM AND TIFFANY HWANG - LEAH AND ELLA MEET AGAIN]**

 _ **Ella walks in the house* with her mother. She greets Leah's mother and looks aroung nervously. She thinks Leah doesn't live there anymore. Leah's mother tells them Leah is in the backyard and that she doesn't know Ella and her mother are in the house and Ella gets shocked. Ella leaves her mother with Katheryn** and runs to the backyard to find Leah. She sees Leah sitting on a bench reading a book.**_

 _ **"Leah!" Ella screams with tears in her eyes. Leah looks up and sees Ella. She puts down her book and gets up, speechless. A faint "Ella..." is everything that comes from her mouth, her eyes never leaving the girl a few feet away from her. Ella starts crying and runs to Leah, hugging her tightly. Leah returns the hug and starts crying with her.**_

 **[SCENE #2 - TAEYEON KIM AND TIFFANY HWANG - LEAH AND ELLA MEET AGAIN - PART 2]**

 _ **"Why did you go away?" Leah mutters near Ella's ear, still crying. She lets go of Ella and holds Ella's arms, shaking it lightly. "Huh? Really, Ella, why did you go away! Do you even know how it was for me to live without my best friend?" she asks pleadingly, her tears still overflowing. Ella cries more and says, "It wasn't my fault! I didn't want to leave you! Do you even know how it was for me to grow up and become a teenager in a different country without my best friend? Huh?"**_

 _ **Ella tries to calm herself down slowly and her tears stop. She holds Leah's face and smiles, trying to stop herself from crying more. "Let me look at you. Oh my God, Leah, you are such a woman now." She can't help and lets her tears go again. Leah hugs her tightly again.**_

 _ **"Promise me you won't go away this time, Ella. Promise me!" Leah begs. Ella returns the girl's hug and places one of her hands on Leah's head, whispering softly in between tears, "I won't, I promise. I don't want to."**_

 _ **(*= Leah's house/ **=Leah's mother.)**_

x

x

...

Freaking intense scenes, god damn it. _This is either going to be very good or very awkward,_ I thought. I decided to stick with the first possibility. I was nervous, but I believed it was just nervousness of the first day. I was actually pretty excited to see how would I and Taeyeon pull such scenes off.

By the time I finished reading, Tina called me and I sat down to get my makeup done. Taeyeon was no longer in the room, she was probably changing, I guess. It took Tina not more than 15 minutes to finish my makeup and she pointed me the dressing room. I made my way to it and knocked the door.

"Come in!" I heard Taeyeon say from the inside. _God, please don't let her be naked_ , I thought before turning the knob.

"Hi, again," I greeted her. And thankfully, she wasn't naked. She was dressed in these skinny jeans with a Mickey Mouse-printed shirt. "Nice outfit you have there."

"Thank you. I liked it too. I think I'll like Leah's style," she smiled. "I'll go now."

She left the room and I closed the door. I spotted my outfit and picked it up. It was a nude-colored simple dress with a white cardigan. A very romantic style. I'd rather more colorful and bright clothes, but I found that one nothing bad.


	11. Lights! Camera! Action!

**POV — Tiffany**

I came out of the dressing room all ready. I was feeling nervous to death, but my nervousness was completely mixed with my excitement. I had been looking for this moments for days, I had to make everything perfect. I got to the set and Taeyeon was already there, she smiled at me when she saw me. I smiled back at her and slightly bowed my head. Martin was the second who noticed me.

Martin gave me the instructions and I shot the scenes with Trish and Miranda. They would play Katheryn and Lorraine: Leah's and Ella's mothers, respectively. They were both very sweet. Trish was unbelievably lively and upbeat, despite the fact she was 52. She was almost a dork. They were both very pretty ladies, too. Miranda was a calm and quiet woman, but she was very, very warm and friendly. Maybe the four of us could get along well and become friends. Everything went smoothly, although we had to take 3 to 5 takes because Trish kept babbling and forgetting her lines in the middle of the scene. But she made fun of herself and apologized, saying she didn't get enough sleep the night before. After I was finished with the scenes with them, Martin led me to the other set where I would film my first scene with Taeyeon. It was the outside set, and everything was perfectly arranged like a typical Californian backyard, Taeyeon was sitting on the bench where Leah was supposed to be.

"So, Tiffany," Martin turned to me, "The scene will start with you opening the backyard door and running into it before seeing Taeyeon. I want full emotion in this scene, you know how we can get you fake tears but do you think you can cry for real?"

Yeah. I could. I didn't want to... But I could.

"Sure," I nodded. "I can do it. Trust me."

"Great." he smiled. "I'm very excited to see this. So I'll just leave you here and I'll talk to Taeyeon for a minute, because I want to ask her the same. Good luck my dear!"

I nodded again and stood still. I sighed. I had filmed drama scenes before. Those dramatic scenes full of tears, shouting and sadness. I didn't like them very much, though I knew some of them were undeniably important to the stories. But I didn't like them because, as the perfectionist I am, I always wanted everything to seem and feel real and deep, and therefore I would always bring back memories that made me cry, and then after I was already crying I would replace those previous memories with other thoughts as if I was in my character's place.

And I would always think of my mother.

"OK, EVERYONE, IS EVERYTHING READY?" Martin's yelling pulled me away from my thoughts, keeping me from crying there and then, although I did know that I couldn't fully let those thoughts go at that stage of the game.

I looked up and Martin was heading to his director chair.

"OK! LET'S GO, GUYS. LIGHTS! CAMERA!" _don't say action, don't say action, don't say-_ "ACTION!" _Fuck._

I opened the door in a rush immediately after hearing Martin's shout. I stepped on the fake backyard and saw Taeyeon. I was getting nervous. I thought of my mother once again, and the tears were ready to pour out of my eyes when I less expected. "Leah!" I shouted, after stepping forward a couple of times more and stopping in my tracks. One lonely tear escaped from my eyes and Taeyeon looked up, standing up. She had this deadpanned look on her face—I wondered how did she do that so well. She took a deep breath and held her breath for a second before exhaling and saying her line. "Ella..."

"CUT!" Martin shouted. I kept looking at Taeyeon for a few more seconds before looking away and wiping my face, forcing myself to stop crying. I looked at where Martin was, wondering if there was anything wrong. He kept staring at this little screen and then nodded. "Mhm, that's it. It's good, girls, it's very good. Keep in this pace, let's move to the next scene," he said as he continued his speech with another 'lights, camera, action!' shout.

In a few seconds, all the thoughts came back to my head and I tried to concentrate in that moment and in that moment only. The nice setting, the story, my character, Taeyeon a few feet from me. I looked at her again as tears started to fall once more, and ran to her. I hugged her tightly and she hugged me back. I thought Martin would shout 'CUT!' again, but he did nothing.

I could feel Taeyeon lifting her face a little. She tighted her grip around me as she brought her lips near my ear and whispered, "Why did you go away?" Her shaky voice made me feel like crying even more. She let go of the hug and looked at me, holding my arms. She shook them lightly, not enough to even disturb me. "Huh? Tell me, Ella, why did you go away? Do you even know how it was for me to live without my best friend?" she said, raising her voice, and I could see her red eyes and wet cheeks. I cried even harder. "It wasn't my fault! I didn't want to leave you! Do you even know how it was for me to grow up in a different country without my best friend? Huh?" I responded. Taeyeon kept staring at me before lowering her face. I took a deep breath and wiped my face, holding hers and lifting it up as the script told me to. "Let me look at you, Leah... Gosh, you're such a woman now," I said as I smiled, before biting my lip and easily letting the tears fall once more. Taeyeon hugged me again. "Promise you won't leave this time. Promise me!" she muttered near my ear once again. I hugged her back and placed one of my hands on her head, gently stroking her hair. "I won't, I promise," I said.

Taeyeon's hug was really warm. Warmer than the hot weather of the end of the summer. I was about to smile when I heard Martin shout, "CUT!" once again.

"That was great. GREAT!" he said as he got up. Me and Taeyeon let go of each other and I immediately wiped my face, hoping it wasn't too bad... Or too red. "I really liked, girls. I noticed there were a few changes in your lines but it was awesome either way... I don't think we need to shoot it again," he said, looking pretty much satisfied, "but, however, let's do it just once more to make sure we're not missing out on anything, yeah?"

I nodded and so did Taeyeon. I took a glance at her and her face looked very calm. I was still recomposing myself. How did she do that, anyway? She looked at me and gave me this smirk before winking weakly. I giggled a little and shook my head slightly, going back to my first spot.

We shot the scene once more and everything went smoothly. There were no mistakes and we definitely didn't forget any of our lines. Maybe it was even better than the first shot, since we were better accustomed to it now.

After we were done with that part, we started to shoot the scenes where Ella and Leah talk about their lives. They were simple, comfortable scenes, and I wasn't as nervous as before. Maybe it was because they weren't emotional. In these scenes, Leah would tell Ella that she graduated in Photography and had her own studio now, and Ella would tell Leah that she graduated in Psychology. And then, we were done with shooting that day's scenes by5PM. I wasn't expecting to be done so soon, I believed it was because it was just the first day. When we finished the last scene, I had to answer a phone call from Sunny. She said she and her family lost the flight because her little niece got ill, so she probably wouldn't make it to tomorrow and wouldn't be with me again. I said it was okay, although I didn't like to be without my manager and friend at work. But I felt bad, because she apologized so many times.

After ending the call with Sunny, I didn't see Taeyeon anymore. I thought she was changing, but when I got to the changing room, she wasn't there. I changed and grabbed my things, ready to leave. I was making my way out of the studio when I saw Martin. I called his name and waved. He waved back and smiled at me before telling me I should be in the studio tomorrow at the same time. I chuckled and made an 'OK' sign with my fingers.

I wanted to say goodbye to Taeyeon, but I didn't see her anymore. Maybe she was tired and had already gone home. I smiled weakly and made my way to my parked car. I entered it and drove home calmly, thanking the heavens that there wasn't much traffic today, miraculously. I got home and took another shower. The evening was getting chilly and I had nothing to do, so I decided to go straight to bed and watch some TV. I was lazily lying on my bed, already getting bored, when I heard the message alert ringing from my phone. I grabbed and unlocked it. It was a message from Taeyeon.

'I left to get some pastries from Aunt Mary, but you were already gone when I came back. I'm sorry, I should've told you. Good job today! Thank you :)' said the message. I whined on my own when I read that. Aunt Mary's pastries? Now I want Aunt Mary's pastries. But I didn't want to make Taeyeon feel guilty, so I just replied with a 'Don't worry, it's okay. Thank YOU. ^^'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I hurried to the changing room as soon as I and Tiffany were done for the day. I thanked the heavens that Tiffany had to answer a phone call, so she wouldn't notice the abrupt way I was leaving the studio. I didn't even bother going to the changing room, I just grabbed my belongings and left the studio, I would give the outfit back tomorrow. I just needed to get out of there. I reached my car and sighed as I got in, placing my hands on the steering wheel. I breathed in and out a few times, not recognizing my own behavior. I turned the engine on and I was home sooner than I expected to be.

I got home and headed straight to the bathroom, I decided to take a bubble bath to see if I could relax a little. Maybe what I was feeling in that moment was all due my first day of work in a different project, I had never done anything like that movie before, anyway. I took my clothes off in a rush and entered the bathtub, sighing heavily as I adjusted my body in the warm water and rested my head on the bathtub's edge.

I heard my cell phone ringing a few moments later.

"Hello?" I said, almost like a tired groan, not even bothering to open my closed eyes to see who was calling me.

"Where the HECK are you?" I heard the voice say. Nice.

I forgot Sooyoung was going to drop by the studio.

"Home. Bathing. I'm naked though, do you want me to send a picture?"

"You spoiled midget! I thought I had told you I was going to meet you up at the studio?"

"I... I had to leave. Sorry, I completely forgot it." Indeed, I completely forgot it. I just wanted to get out of there.

"Did anything happen?"

"No, not really," I said before sighing and mentally slapping my own face for that. "It's just..."

"Come on, Taeyeon. Spit it out, or I'll personally go to your home right now spit on you. Don't you play games, I'm PMSing."

 _Flashback_

I was okay. I was excited, actually. I was really willing to put my whole heart into this movie, I couldn't help but see it as a huge opportunity to grow professionally. I loved the kind of movies I've always done, but I always had this little yearn for doing something different. Especially because I would be able to challenge myself as an actress. And now, it would be the first scene I would ever shoot for this movie, my first scene with Tiffany.

I couldn't say I was nervous... But I could say I was completely... Taken aback. Astonished.

When I saw Tiffany running to me with those visibly teary and red eyes and soaked cheeks, I felt as if my heart was breaking into a million pieces. If I weren't deeply concentrated on being Leah at that moment, I would catch myself wondering whether those painful tears that were coming out of Tiffany's eyes were real or she was just a even more mesmerizing actress than I already thought she was. And feeling like that, somehow, helped me get even more into my character. That was... That was what struck me. Tiffany was making me fall into the story, into my character, it was like we had this strange connection. No one had ever done that before.

She threw herself in my arms and I instinctively wrapped them around her. I suddenly liked hugging her. I knew she was warm, but I never thought she was _this_ warm. I squeezed her a little. I don't know why in the living hell I did that, but, who cares? I mean... Leah. Leah would do that. Wouldn't she?

 _End of flashback_

"Hello? HELLO? TAEYEON!" I heard Sooyoung's voice coming out of my phone, jolting me out of my musing.

"Sooyoung, for the first time in my life, I don't know how I'm going to cope with a role," I blurted out.

"What? No. Seriously? I mean, you think _you_ can't cope with a role? Now you got me worried, kid. What's happening?"

"Tiffany."

"What did she do?" Sooyoung's voice sounded really concearned, though I could hear a faint sound like a bag of chips being opened coming out of the phone.

"She did nothing wrong. She was actually... Amazing. She's amazing, Sooyoung, she's really great. It's just that... You know how emotional the whole story is, you read the script, you also know that I'm not whatsoever used to this kind of role and... When Tiffany and I were shooting our first scene, I felt something so weird. I felt so... I don't know how to put it into words, Soo," I sighed defeatedly. "I never felt so dialed-in in a role before like that. I, I really have no idea how to explain it to you."

"I can see that. You're babbling," Sooyoung said, and I could picture her holding in a giggle by the tone in her voice.

"I know. Sorry."

"Don't be. Maybe you're just nervous because you're not used to it, like you said?"

"Yeah, I supposed. I hope that's it, or else I'll probably be dead before we finish shooting the movie," I chuckled.

"You won't. Just focus, okay? I don't need to tell you how great you are, Taeng. Go for it, concentrate, Hollywood is waiting for you and you know that. And call me if you need anything, will ya?"

"I will," I smiled. "Thank you, Soo. Will you be there for me tomorrow morning?"

"8AM sharp. I'll pick you up."

"You'd better. Good night, Soo."

I finished the call and sighed. It would be better if I just let it go, I shouldn't make my mind busy with thoughts that haven't been anything but incoherent so far. I looked at my phone's screen and suddenly remembered Tiffany. I felt bad for leaving the studio the way I did, I should've been more polite. We had exchanged our phone numbers before, so I decided to text her. I sent her a message saying I left to buy some pastries to cover up for my childish and crazy behavior that she, heavens permit, didn't notice. I told her I went back to the studio but didn't find her there. She replied saying it was all okay, and I felt a little relieved for a moment.


	12. Introduction - Part I (The Article)

**Everyone, we present you Leah and Ella: Taeyeon Kim and Tiffany Hwang are working on a new project ㅡ SIDE BY SIDE!**

 **x**

 **...**

Good news seems to be everywhere these days! After a six-month period of not being seen around a lot and not mentioning future projects whenever she was briefly interviewed, we'll finally get to see a lot more of our beloved Taeyeon. And guess what's better than that! We'll see her accompanied by that beautiful lady. Yes, _that_ beautiful lady we all love to talk about. Our favorite "newbie," as she likes to jokingly call herself. Taeyeon and Tiffany Hwang are going to be together on the big screen, everyone!

The ladies were casted by Mr. Martin Cox around three months ago, and they started filming almost one month after. That means they've been doing this on the sly for two months, and we only knew about it now? Well, in fact, yes, they have. We all know how there's usually a lot of publicity when it comes to movies involving big names ㅡ we've been there many times with Taeyeon, so why didn't we know about this project?

"Our goal is to introduce the movie to the public on baby steps. We don't want to ruin the surprise," Martin Cox, the director, told us on a phone call. "We consider it to be a good idea, because it makes the public more curious and thus more excited. We want everyone to look forward to seeing this movie." And although we tried to get something from him, Mr. Cox was resistant. "I can't say anything about the plot yet. I guess you'll only know when the first trailer comes out, but there might be a change of plans, who knows. We are expecting people to be considerably satisfied with only promotional pictures for now. Aside from that, all I can give you is the name of their characters. Um, how do I put that... I hope everyone shows _Leah_ and _Ella_ a lot of love. Taeyeon and Tiffany are stupendous, amazing actresses that bring joy to the studio every day and are putting their whole hearts into this, so we are all expecting the hard work to pay off. We are very confident."

HELL YEAH! Leah and Ella! We like it already. On the other hand, it seems like this 'I can't talk about it for now' speech is something that has been discussed among the cast members and director Cox, or at least that's what it seems and what we think. Previously, Taeyeon went to Talk To Bethy, and when the host questioned her about what to expect from the movie, Taeyeon simply responded, "Who knows. I really can't tell you." This first promotional picture, however, can possibly confuse some people. Bethy asked Taeyeon, "What can we expect from it? I mean, she's very famous for her amazing debut role as a Spy, and you're very known for those kicking-ass female roles that we all love, what would you two together bring to us? An action movie? Thriller? Something similar to your previous roles and hers?" and that got many people believing the same, fantasizing about some kind of Charlie's Angels movie. But... Now, what can we expect from a movie from which such a sweet, heart-warming picture as the one shown above comes from?

Stay tuned on our Holler!News website from now on, because we will be diligently updating you on these two lovely women whenever we can!


	13. Introduction - Part II

**POV — Taeyeon**

It was only 6:30AM and I was already up, ready to work. Actually, it would be wrong to say I was up. I couldn't sleep the night before. Gosh, I hate it so much when my insomnia strikes. I wasn't in a bad mood, however. The filming has been so great so far that thinking about working there would make me feel instantly better, even if I were so tired and exhausted to the point I could get knocked out by a feather. And, believe me, exhaustion was starting to appear. Our filming schedules were starting to get more intense. Yesterday, for example, we worked from 7AM to 11PM, with almost no breaks. I was completely beaten when I got home. But there were things that made up for that.

Tiffany and have been getting significantly close for the past months. We were friends now, great friends, we liked to spend time together. I give the props to Leah and Ella, though. We wouldn't get close if it weren't for them. I mean... Me and Tiffany were constantly being sweet and touching each other on screen, we kind of got used to that even off the cameras. The scenes were still simple, though, but we knew things would start to change and we were ready for it. At least, I like to think that way. We were still thinking of it as a challenge.

I sighed and called Sooyoung. I was glad she was already up too, because I don't really like to wake her up. I get very disturbed and annoyed when someone wakes me up, so I don't like to do the same with other people. I asked her to come and pick me up, because I didn't think I was in good conditions to drive, considering I spent the whole night rolling on my bed. I changed positions so many times before trying to stay still to see if I would get sleepy that it came to a point where my whole body felt numb. And that was my response when Sooyoung asked me why the heck I wouldn't just stay in bed, because I would arrive in the studio like an hour earlier than I was supposed to.

But, as the good manager and friend she is, she picked me up and we arrived the studio fifteen minutes later. It was a calm and quiet ride, there weren't many cars on the streets, which was quite surprising for a Friday morning. As we entered the studio, I spotted Martin already getting everyone ready for filming and giving the staff instructions. We greeted him and he weakly waved at us, he looked as tired as me.

I left Sooyoung doing whatever she would so and decided to go to the changing room and lie down on the very comfortable and huge white sofa that was in the corner of the room, since there was very few people in the studio at that time, and I'm sure no one would mind. I rested my head on one of its cushions and closed my eyes, hoping I could at least take a little nap before I started filming. Maybe if I did, I wouldn't look dead on screen nor need to wear two thick layers of makeup.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

I arrived at the studio with Sunny around 7:30AM. I was worried I was late, but when we got there, Martin told us we would have to delay the filming for one hour or so, because there were some broken equipment what had to be fixed urgently. I was kind of relieved.

Neither I or Sunny had had breakfast that morning. I overslept and left my house hastily afraid I would be late, and I still had to drop by Sunny's house because her car had a problem on the engine and had to be fixed. So, Sunny told me she would get my car and go out to get some breakfast for us. I agreed and she left. I wandered around the studio looking for Taeyeon, but there was no sign of her. I asked Martin if he had seen her but he said he wasn't sure, he said she could probably be resting. Though I didn't want to bother her, I wanted to see her, so I dared to check the rooms in the studio one by one.

Taeyeon and I got really close. We were more than comfortable around each other now, though I still felt that there was this... This... This something, this feeling I couldn't understand between us. I would describe is as an awkwardness, but it wasn't exactly that. But I decided to ignore it, because we were doing just great with each other and I wouldn't want to ruin that, especially when we had the movie to work on. It would be better if we had chemistry. Not that I mean we have, it's just... Yeah, well, screw it. I knew we had chemistry. And I liked it.

When I opened the dressing room's door, I looked around it and saw a very peacefully sleeping Taeyeon on the sofa. I giggled a little. I entered the room and closed the door, silently making my way to the couch. I sat on the sofa's arm and looked at Taeyeon's face. I had never seen someone sleep with such a serene look on her face. I, myself, would often sleep with my mouth open and wake up in the middle of the night drooling. Taeyeon was... Amusing even when she was asleep.

I admired her. A hell lot. Everything she did mesmerized me. Do you know when a fangirl sees her idol? That was how I felt whenever I saw her acting. She was just great and it was so nice to work with her, so natural, so comfortable. Suddenly, I thought how much I would miss everything about this experience when it came to an end. Most likely, I have to admit to myself, how much I would miss working with Taeyeon. Or how much I would miss her, actually.

I leaned in a little and placed both of my hands on her head. I started to gently drag the tips of my fingers through her scalp and a few moments later I saw her shifting a bit. Waking up, I supposed. I smiled and crossed my legs, resting my arms on my knees. I watched her as she confusedly opened her eyes and looked around the room.

"Good morning," I said, before holding in a chuckle when I noticed I had startled her a little by how quickly she turned to me.

"Oh, Tiffany," she smiled, "good morning," and then she yawned.

"Tired?"

"Very," she weakly said before smiling in the same way. "But happy to see you. You're an energizer, remember?" she said as she sat on the sofa. I just chuckled.

"Yeah, right. So, is your improvised bed comfortable, Ms. Kim?"

"Want to try? I guarantee you it's way more comfortable than the floor," she said while lifting her eyebrows and looking at me, probably recalling the day during our first meetings when I slept on the floor in the middle of a photo shoot.

And did I mention how much I like it when she does that thing with her eyebrows?

"Sure. Why not," I said as I moved from the sofa's arm to the actual sofa. It was quite comfortable, she was right. I rested my head on the cushion she was using before and looked at her. "But if I fall sleep, it will be your fault. It's hard to wake my up and I'll probably embarrass myself if anyone tries to."

"You won't," she chuckled. "But if you do, I'll personally wake you up and make sure I record it if you embarrass yourself." She remained quiet for some seconds before looking at me again, pointing at the sofa. "Can I...?"

"Sure," I said as I moved my body a little and turned it to her, in order to give her a better space to lie in. "I can leave, if you want to."

"No, please stay." She smiled as she lied down and turned her body to me.

I smiled back at her and we just stayed there, quietly and kind of shyly looking at each other for a couple of minutes before I finally broke the silence.

"Oh em gee, I am on the sofa with Taeyeon Kim," I whispered.

She instantly started to laugh.

"Stop it. Sometimes, you speak in a way it seems I'm an idol or something," she shook her head, trying to hide a smile.

"Can't you cope with working with an admirer?"

"You're just flattering me."

"And if I were?"

"..."

I smiled at her. "Bingo. I won. You owe me something now."

She laughed again and I felt good. I've never been funny — in fact, my friends used to always tell me I would try too hard to be funny —, but at least I made someone laugh.

"Say, Taeyeon," I called her.

"Hm?"

"Do you have any problem with skinship?"

She stared at me for a few seconds before blinking a few times and chuckling. "Tiffany, I'm an actress. How would I manage to have this kind of job if I had a problem with skinship?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. There are actors and actresses out there who only feel comfortable doing it for the roles, you know. And some women find it weird to have skinship with another woman depending on their their age. It's more common between teenage friends, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

I looked at her again and rested my face on her shoulder. "Would you mind if I took a nap here?" I whispered.

She just chuckled faintly and smiled at me, shaking her head and shyly resting her hand on my back. She touched it so lightly I almost didn't feel it. "Make yourself comfortable," she whispered back at me.

x

x

...

 **POV — Sunny**

 _Half an hour later_.

I came back to the studio with the breakfast I had bought for me and Tiffany, but I couldn't manage to find her anywhere. Luckily, I saw Sooyoung sitting on Taeyeon's chair, just finishing a phone call. I walked up to her, hoping she could tell me where the heck the pink girl was.

"Hey, Sooyoung!" I called her and she looked up to me.

"Oh, hey Sun!" she smiled. "Come, have a sit! Do you need anything?"

I smiled back at her and approached her, sighing as I left the bags I was carrying on the floor. "In fact, I do. Have you seen Tiffany? I told her I would go out to get us breakfast, but she just disappeared..."

"Breakf-" she interrupted herself and looked down to the bags on the floor, "so you have food there?"

"Sooyoung!" I mentally kicked her and sighed again. "I promise you'll get some, just please help me find Tiffany. This girl is weak as hell, she needs to eat something before she passes out in the middle of her work!"

"Okay, okay," she said as she got up, "but I really don't know where did she go. The last time I saw her, she asked me where Taeyeon was."

"Then they must be together. Where was Taeyeon then?"

"I don't know either, that midget just disappeared too. But she was very tired, maybe she's in the dressing room, I know there's this comfortable sofa there."

"Good. You come with me then," I said as I grabbed her arm so that she would accompany me to the dressing room. There was no way on Earth I would leave Sooyoung alone. Especially with my food there.

"But-"

"Tiffany and Taeyeon first. Food can wait. It's not like it's going to run away," I said before she could start complaining. I wasn't looking at her, but I knew she was frowning. I scoffed quietly. This cookie monster.

I liked Sooyoung. She was a kind, warm, funny girl. It was great to have her around because I wouldn't get bored while Tiffany was working, since I would talk to her. We got to know each other pretty well, we became good friends, and I was glad for that. I'm not the type of person who befriends people easily, I'm quite a private person, but Sooyoung made me feel comfortable. She was like a gift to me. Do you know those friends that come into your life and you feel like you need to take care of them forever because they're just too precious? That was Sooyoung for me.

But I wouldn't let Tiffany know that. She would get jealous.

We reached the dressing room's door and knocked on it, but no one responded. I looked at Sooyoung and she just shrugged. So I decided to open the door. I did it carefully, afraid I might scare them or interrupt something. I didn't want to see any of them naked, if they were changing.

And I entered that room just to see one of the most surprising scenes I had ever seen in my entire 26 years of existence.

"Well, well," I whispered and smirked as I crossed my arms, looking at Taeyeon and Tiffany sleeping together on the sofa. Tiffany had her face rested on Taeyeon's shoulder, Taeyeon was peacefully sleeping with her head on the cushion, her hand gently resting on Tiffany's back. Oh, I'd get a picture of that. That I would.

I noticed Sooyoung didn't enter the room with me, so I silently got out of it and found her busily texting. I poked her arm and she looked at me.

"What?"

"Shh. There's something I think you need and want to see. Come," I held her arm again as I led her into the room. When she saw what I had seen, her jaw dropped.

"No way," she muttered.

"I'm photographing it," I told her as I took my phone out of my pocket, "this is going to be great."

"Me too. I'm teasing Taeyeon forever," she said as she did the same.

We both took our respective pictures of the moment as we chuckled. We pocketed our phones again and approached the sofa carefully.

"I think they've been sleeping for half an hour or something now, don't you think it's time to wake them up?" Sooyoung asked me.

I took a moment to think about it. Indeed, I was thinking we should wake them up, too. But I didn't want to ruin that moment. And knowing how Sooyoung can be mischievously playful, I knew Tiffany would feel embarrassed to death if we woke them up now and here.

"Yeah," I began, "but not here. Let's just leave and then call their on their cell phones."

"No pranks?" Sooyoung pouted. I just chuckled.

"No pranks, So. Let's go," I told her and held her arm, making my way out of the room and dragging her with me before closing the door behind us.

x

x

...

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I woke up with something annoyinglyvibrating in my pocket. I sighed and opened my eyes, taking my cell phone out of my pocket and answering the call.

"Yes?"

" _Sleepyhead, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your nap of love, but don't you think it's time to wake up?_ " I heard Sooyoung say on the line.

"Is Martin calling me?" I asked as I closed my eyes again.

" _Um... No. Actually, thanks for mentioning him, I haven't seen Mr. Cox in a while_."

"Mmm," I murmured and sighed again. "Wait," I opened my eyes again, wider this time, "how do you know I was napping?"

" _Me and Sunny were looking for you and for Tiffany and... Well, let's say we've got some pretty pictures from what we saw,_ " she responded and I could almost _feel_ Sooyoung's predictable grin behind the line. I was about to say something, and probably cuss at her, when I felt Tiffany moving a little beside me.

"I'll take care of you later, you stupid broomstick. Let me wake Tiffany up. Go find Martin," I said before abruptly hanging up the call.

I looked at Tiffany and she still was peacefully sleeping, despite the fact that she just moved. I could feel my arm aching due the numbness from being under her body for such a long time, but I didn't really care. I took a look at her face. She was so pretty, no wonder everyone in Hollywood thought so. It was the kind of beauty I had never seen before. I wouldn't know how to explain it, but she was just unique, I suppose. I admired her a lot, she's been constantly surprising me for the past two months, her acting was simply even better than I thought. I could see it was good through her movies and, yes, I've been watching some of her movies in the past months, but seeing her act was something completely different. I felt lucky and so very fortunate to be working with her.

I suddenly found myself looking at her lips and holding my breath. I felt nervous. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but the thought of kissing Tiffany would always leave me out of my mind. Though I didn't know why, because I never felt really nervous with this kind of thing, I was actually pretty used. But Tiffany was different. She made me feel like a teenage girl who was about to have her first kiss.

But I blamed that feeling on the fact that I would be kissing a woman for the first time in my life.

"Tiffany," I called her after cleaning my throat and recollecting my thoughts.

She didn't move.

"Tiffany," I called her again, louder this time, "come on, wake up!"

Still no response.

Then, I remembered something my mom used to do to me when I was little and wouldn't wake up.

I carefully removed my arm from under her body and placed my hand on the sofa, searching for support for my body that I was now lifting. I approached my lips to her ear and blew quickly into it.

She shrunk a little and covered her ear with one of her hands. I smiled. Mission accomplished.

"What is this?!" I heard her sleepily complain.

"Finally. Good morning. Again. Thought you would never wake up."

I watched her as she slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, probably confused. "Oh, good morning Taeyeon," she said and lazily smiled at me, "is anything wrong?"

"No. Sooyoung and Sunny are looking for us, I thought I should wake you up."

"Did something happen?"

"Nope, that's all."

"Oh," she mouthed before nodding slightly. "Okay then. We shall go," she said as she got up and tidied her shirt. "Did you get some rest?"

"I guess so. We didn't sleep for not even an hour, but it's still better than nothing. Did you?"

She chuckled. "I wasn't tired. But I have this... Thing, I can fall asleep anywhere that's comfortable or whenever I lay down. It's kind of problematic."

"That's really... Surprising, considering how energetic you are and how readily you do whatever you have to do," I got up and put the cushions on their respective places on the sofa while still talking to her.

"Nobody is perfect, right?" she smiled. "Let's go."

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

An hour had already gone by and there was still no sight of Martin. Me, Taeyeon, Sunny and Sooyoung were impatiently waiting together in the middle of the studio, the two latter busily trying to contact him with her phones.

"Guys, what if something bad happened to him?" I suggested. "Maybe he's in trouble, I'm starting to get anxious."

"Relax, Fany," Sooyoung tried to assure me while bringing her phone up ot her year, trying to call Martin for the possible 30th time, "if so, we would know by now. I'm sure he is just busy or something."

"But Mr. Cox isn't the kind of man who would go out in the middle of his work without at least telling someone! Not even the staff knows what's happening..."

"Hey," I heard Taeyeon say as she approached me and rested one of her hands on my arms, squeezing it gently, "Sooyoung is right. Maybe he had to leave in a hurry and didn't have the time to tell anyone." I looked at her and nodded a little.

"WHY, THIS MAN!" I heard Sunny cry out. "WHY WOULD HE DO THAT!"

"Sunny, calm down..." I said.

"NO! I'm annoyed. You know how I hate when that happens. It makes people look unprofessional."

"I know, I know, but you know that Mr. Cox is not unprofessional. Let go of that phone, chill down."

She stared at me for a while before snorting puffing loudly. "Fine," she said as she pocketed her phone and sat down looking like an angry kid. I giggled and blew her a kiss.

After some more minutes waiting, we heard Martin's loud voice talking on the phone and saw him walking into the studio. The four of us sighedrelievedly. We waited until he had ended his phone call and walked up to him.

"Mr. Cox, is everything alright?" Taeyeon asked shyly.

"Oh, Taeyeon! Tiffany!" he looked at us both, "I'm terribly sorry. You see, the writer of the script called me and told me she wanted to make some slight changes on it. I was talking to her, trying to convince her to give this idea up because we had already stared to film, but she is so damn stubborn," he sighed.

"Changes?" I asked. "What kind of changes?"

"I don't know, I have no idea. But she said she needs a week. And I gave in. I mean, what can I do? She said she would forbid the filming of the movie if I didn't let her change whatever the hell she wanted to," he said as he shrugged defeatedly. "I'm sorry for worrying you. But, I hope you see the bright side of this ㅡ at least, you have the next week off," he tried a smile.

"It's okay, Mr. Cox," Taeyeon smiled politely and placed one of her hands on the man's shoulder, "we understand. Don't worry. We'll get a good rest and you should take a well-deserved one, too."

"Oh, thank you, darling. I will, I will," he said as he patted Taeyeon's hand. "Well, you're dismissed, girls. I apologize once again. I have to go now. Bye!" the man said with an apologetic smile as he walked away.

The four of us stayed quiet for a minute before Taeyeon broke the silence.

"So... What now?"

"Lunch!" Sooyoung happily cried out.

"Sooyoung, it's barely 10AM. Please don't give me secondhand embarrassment," Taeyeon said, eyeing Sooyoung in the most 'I am judging you' way possible. That made me chuckle.

"We can take a walk or maybe drop by a cafeteria or something. Starbucks, anyone?" I suggested.

"Oooh, yes, I'm in for a Starbucks, I haven't had one in months," Sunny said.

"Great," I smiled. "You, Sooyoung?" I looked at her.

"If there's food, I'm in. Sunny promised me some pastries that she NEVER gave me," she said as she eyed Sunny. I chuckled again.

"Good, good," I said before looking at Taeyeon, who remained quiet. "What about you, Ms. Hollywod?"

She smiled. "Sounds tempting, but I think I'm heading home to get some sleep."

"Poor Taengoo couldn't sleep for the whole night, right buddy?" Sooyoung said as she patted Taeyeon's back. Taeyeon just nodded.

"Oh, okay then. But would you mind if we steal Sooyoung a little?"

"No, not at all. Take her, keep her, I don't mind. She just knows how to annoy me," Taeyeon said as she chuckled and pinched Sooyoung's cheek, making the taller girl roll her eyes.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys in a week or so," Taeyeon smiled faintly. "Have fun. Plase get rid of Sooyoung if she gets too inconvenient."

"We can throw her in the nearest river, don't worry," I said as I winked at her and smiled. "Rest well."

"Yeah, Taeyeon, rest well. You're old already, I don't want you to develop some old lady disease for lack of sleep."

Taeyeon stayed quiet for some seconds, just staring at Sooyoung. She then narrowed her eyes a little before grabbing her belongings. "The age difference between you and me is ONE year, Sooyoung. And old or not," she said as she put on her shades, playfully smiling at Sooyoung, "my boobs are still bigger and prettier than yours."

Sooyoung's jaw dropped and Taeyeon just walked away. Me and Sunny couldn't stop ourselves from laughing out loud. Sunny was particularly laughing so much she was almost screaming.

"Now what a little jerk! I can't believe I call her my best friend AND boss," Sooyoung said as she crossed her arms.

Me and Sunny just laughed even more.

x

x

...

 **POV — Taeyeon**

Well, the break actually came in good time, after all. It was still early in the morning and I would be able to sleep for the rest of the day and rest for the rest of the week.

I entered my house and locked the door before I ran upstairs, eager to go to my room and throw myself on my soft bed. As I finally did so, I took my phone out of my pocket and took my shoes off, wrapping myself on my blankets to enjoy the chilly morning.

The thought of having a week off came back into my mind. I was absolutely glad I would have some spare time and days to rest, because we've been working really hard lately.

But, somehow, I didn't like the idea of not seeing Tiffany for a whole week. Not after all the time we had been spending together, not after becoming used to seeing her every day.

And I didn't know what would happen during this week of or what she would do, so I decided I should take advantage of today.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

"Geez," I said as I sat down around a small table with Sooyoung and Sunny, "if I knew Starbucks would be this crowded today, I would've suggested another place."

"Nah, that's good," Sooyoung said. "It worth it, after all. I've been here in more crowded days, though."

"Mhm," Sunny agreed. "And after you mentioned Starbucks, I started to crave it. I wouldn't have gone to another place, nuh-uh," she chuckled.

I giggled. "Yeah, I know how you are when it comes to food."

"What do you mean?" Sooyoung aske.

"You see, Soo, Sunny is... How can I say that? Whenever she craves some food, she won't rest until she gets it, and she won't eat anything else either. It's not that common for her to have these food cravings but whenever she does, it's like that. There was one time we had to go out at 3AM because Sunny was craving a McDonald's and their delivery system wasn't working," I said as I began to laugh.

"Oh, I remember that!" Sunny laughed with me. "Yeah... I couldn't help myself."

"I understand," Sooyoung chuckled, "Though I don't have those cravings. I just eat. I can eat anything. Just... I'm allergic to cinnamon. What's a shame, because it's delicious..." she sighed sadly.

"I don't like cinnamon..." Sunny said.

"Yeah, I know why!" I chuckled again and looked at her, "But if you hadn't stuffed a full spoon of cinnamon in your mouth when you were little, you would probably like it nowadays."

"Wait, what?" Sooyoung started to laugh. "Were you trying to do the cinnamon challenge before it was even invented, Sunny?"

Sunny couldn't help but laugh with us. "I just liked to be original, okay?"

We kept on laughing and talking, waiting for our orders. We were having such a fun and good time that I rued not insisting for Taeyeon to come with us. I was jolted out of my thoughts when I heard my phone ringins. I took a look at its screen and saw Taeyeon's name, readily answering the call afterwards.

"Hi," I greeted her.

" _Hey. How's there?_ "

I smiled. "Fun. We're chatting. You should've come, I'm sorry I didn't insis on it."

" _Don't be_ ," she chuckled, " _I'm just great here. Just called to ask you something._ "

I could feel Sooyoung's and Sunny's eyes on me. I felt a bit shy.

"Shoot it."

" _Are you free tonight? I was wondering if you didn't want to have dinner at my place._ "

"... Yeah," I responded, somewhat nervously. "Yeah, I am. I'd love to. What time?"

" _Is 8PM good for you?_ "

"8PM is just fine," I said as I couldn't contain a smile.

" _Good. See you then. Bye!_ "

"Bye," I said and hung up the call, still smiling.

Sooyoung and Sunny eyed me again.

"What?" I questioned.

"I'm guessing Taengoo invited you to go out with her?" Sooyoung playfully smiled, crossing her arms.

"She invited me to have dinner together AND," I said as I got up to get our coffees after I heard our names being called, "there's nothing wrong in a friendly dinner."

I left after rolling my eyes and giggling as I saw Sooyoung and Sunny looking at each other.

x

x

...

 **POV — Sunny**

I watched as Tiffany walked away to get our orders.

"Hey," Sooyoung poked me, "what's wrong?"

"Sooyoung, you know Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, don't you?" I looked at her.

"Well duh?! Who doesn't?"

"Didn't they fall in love while filming that movie together?"

"Yeah. As many other celebrity couples have fallen in love before in the same situation. But why are you saying that?"

I simply crossed my arms and lifted one of my eyebrows.

"Wait, are you implying that Taeyeon and Tiffany might be-"

"I'm not implying anything, Soo," I cut her off quickly when I saw Tiffany returning to our table. "I'm just telling you you should keep an eye on them to see what happens from now on," I said and smirked. "Drop it now, Fany is coming. We'll talk about it later."


	14. Introduction - Part III

**POV — Tiffany**

"Oh, goodness," I said as I took a look at the tiny golden watch on my wrist that was pointing 8:30PM, "I just hope she doesn't get mad at me."

I picked up the slim bag that contained the wine I bought for Taeyeon and stepped out of my car. I locked it and grabbed my phone, unlocking it to check twice the address Taeyeon had sent me and the number of the house. Thankfully, it was right, meaning my lack of sense of direction had fortunately failed this time.

I approached the house and beheld it for a while. Taeyeon's house kind of resembled mine — it was big, and it looked like it had all the comfort a person could need. but it didn't really seem luxurious. That thought made me feel good. I always hoped my house would speak for me regarding the fact that I didn't care about luxury, I was hoping Taeyeon felt the same.

I rang the doorbell and took a short moment to tidy my deep red bottom-up shirt that was matching with skinny jeans and red heels. I wasn't much of a fashionista. Actually, I did have interest in fashion, but it was kind of like... It wasn't really for me. I'd rather dress simple. I had always loathed extravagant clothes, I had never really enjoyed being the center of the attention... Although I did start to reconsider that thought when I became an actress.

The door opened, jerking me out of my thoughts, to reveal a smiling and friendly Taeyeon greeting me.

"Why, hello Miss Starbucks. I thought you weren't coming anymore," she said before chuckling slightly. "Come in."

I had never seen Taeyeon so beautiful before. She was so different from what I used to see in the studio. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her now growing out fringe was perfectly placed sideways. She was wearing these black skinny jeans with a cozy baby blue sweater. And considering the fact that she was shorter than the usual, I assumed she wasn't wearing anything but socks on her feet, and confirmed my theory after I discreetly looked at it. Yeah, definitely different from the Taeyeon I had been working with. And, truth be told, I found that new, different side of her completely enticing .

"I am terribly sorry, Taeyeon," I said as I stepped in the house and watched as she closed the door, "I didn't mean to be inconvenient, let alone be late, but Prince kind of fell sick and-"

"Prince?" she asked.

"My puppy."

"You have a puppy?" she smiled, "How come I didn't see him when I visited your house?"

"Prince is a quiet little guy," I chuckled, "there are days I myself don't see him unless I look for him or call him, even though he lives with me. Anyway, Taeyeon, he fell sick so I had to take him to Sunny's, but when I did so I was barely all ready and it was around 7:30... And you know what, Sunny's place is almost 30 minutes away from mine, so I had to drive there and back in a rush and still had to give her all the instructions on how to take care of Prince and what vet she should take him to if it were needed, that amidst the worries of not getting ready and arriving here in time and having you get mad at-"

"Hey, hey!" Taeyeon called me out, "Calm down, Fany. You're almost spluttering. It's okay. I didn't get mad and I understand, I hope Prince feels better soon," she said as she broke into this warm smile. "What do you have there?" she eyed the slim bag I was carrying.

"Oh, right," I said as I lifted the bag in the air, "I bought this for you. It's a very fine wine I've drunk a few times. My grandma used to tell me that we should never visit someone's home for the first time without bringing a gift, even if it's a small one, so..."

"Thank you," she smiled again and gently took the bag, "you didn't need to, but I appreciate it very much. I was really wondering what would I serve you to drink. Now come, I will show you the living room," she said as she politely placed her hand on my back. I just followed her.

Her living room was just adorable. There was this huge beige sofa over a apparently soft, pretty carpet, placed in front of a light-colored fireplace and a plasma TV hanging above its wall. The lights were a little yellowish, not too strong nor too weak, and everything gave that living room just an extreme comfortable and cozy feeling. I took advantage of the moment to take a quick look at the rest of the house. As I expected it, it wasn't luxurious at all. Comfortable, but not luxurious. It was utterly pretty and I liked how it only had light colors all around.

"Your house is beautiful," I said with a polite smile.

"Thank you," she returned the smile. "But I don't think you would think that way if you saw my room," she laughed.

"Messy much?"

"A little too much, at least with my own things. But I can keep everything on their proper places, I think I'm just lazy. And I don't share my room with anyone, so it's okay, I suppose," she shrugged a little. "You may have a sit if you want to," she pointed at the sofa.

"I see," I nodded as I sat down. "So, you don't have a puppy?"

"I wish. I love puppies, but I'm allergic to them."

Allergic to dogs. That's kind of sad.

"Haven't you ever thought about getting a cat, then?"

"I adopted one. Once. Three years ago," she responded.

I smiled. "Well, where is it? I like cats, they're so elegant."

"It ran away after 3 weeks."

I took a couple of seconds to process what Taeyeon had just told me and blinked a few times before bursting into laughter.

"I see you are very lucky with pets, Taeyeon."

"Well, you can't have everything," she chuckled.

"But I'm sure someday you'll be able to get one and keep it."

"Yeah. Perhaps if I get married to someone who owns a pet?" she chuckled again, "I wouldn't mind making that sacrifice. I only don't get myself a dog because I have no one to share it with and I definitely wouldn't want to walk around the house sneezing as a crazy woman all by myself."

I just smiled faintly and nodded. "You're right."

"So," she started as she left the wine bag on the pretty coffee table, placed in the middle of the living room, "hungry?"

"In fact, yes," I smiled shyly.

"Great. Dinner is almost ready."

"You're cooking?!" I asked, surprise. She could even cook? Goodness, is there anything in this world she can't do?"

"You didn't think I would invite you to have a meal at my place just to order something, do you? Don't worry, I can cook well and I definitely won't poison your portion," she smiled. "I'm going to the kitchen to finish the food, would you mind waiting for me in here? I won't take long, it's just that the kitchen is kind of messy."

I just chuckled and shook my head. I watched as Taeyeon nodded and left the living room, heading to wherever her kitchen was. I used the moment to try to feel a little more comfortable. I rested my back on the sofa and took my phone out of my pocket, deciding to check my Twitter and Instagram accounts. It had been months since I last tweeted, though I liked to keep my Instagram page updated. I suddenly thought about taking a picture with Taeyeon tonight and uploading it, but that could result in people thinking we're getting involved or something. It was ridiculous how no one else had any kind of innocence when it came to Hollywood issues.

I remembered the article that was released about me and Taeyeon a week ago. I got curious about the comments it received, because I hadn't seen any when I first read it. I looked up for it on Google and found it, rapidly scrolling down to the comments section.

Whatever this movie is about, it's going to be a killer! My gosh!

I smell a blockbuster.

They suit each other so well, I can barely wait to know what this movie is about.

My two favorite Hollywood girls together! Yes!

This movie is probably going to school us on what talent and beauty is. That Martin Cox guy knows what he is doing. Taeyeon and Tiffany together will just be the shit.

I don't know what this is about, but can I ship them already? lol

The comments I read made me smile unconsciously.

"Well, what do you have there?" I heard Taeyeon ask before looking up to her. She was carrying the cutlery and a small white table cloth.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there," I chuckled. "I was, um... I was actually reading the comments on that article they released about us and the movie a few days ago, do you remember it?"

"Certainly," she nodded, tidying the table cloth on the coffee table before perfectly placing the cutlery on top of it. "May I see it?" she turned to me.

I nodded and handed her my phone. She took it and started to scroll down through the comments. I could see a smile forming on her lips. "Why, they're all so good. This is awesome, it looks like we've effortlessly captivated them already," she said before staying quiet for a few seconds. "But what is 'to ship'?"

"I heard it's like... When you root for two people together."

"I see. As... A couple?" she asked as she returned my phone to me.

"Perhaps," I gulped a little and smiled nervously. "Not necessarily," I drove my attention back to my phone.

When I looked up again, Taeyeon was coming back from I don't know where with two wine glasses, one in each hand. She looked at me again.

"Would you mind if we had dinner around the coffee table? I can guarantee you the carpet is pretty soft and we can sit on come cushions, and, to be honest," she kept talking to me while she placed the wine glasses on the small table, "I don't really have a dining table. Not even a dining room, to be more specific."

"Don't you?"

She shook her head. "I never made the host type, nor had the habit of inviting people over to have a formal dinner with me, so I didn't thought it was necessary. Aside from Sooyoung and my family when they come to visit me and spend their vacations on the US, I think you're the only person that's been here since I bought this house... Five years ago or something."

I smiled. "Well, thank you. It's a pleasure. And no, I don't mind at all. Can I sit?" I said as I pointed to the carpet.

"Sure," she smiled back at me, "make yourself comfortable. And you can take your shoes off if you want to. I'll go get the food."

I nodded and took my shoes off as she said I could. I grabbed one of the cushions and placed it near the small table in front of me, sitting on it afterwards. I took a look around the living room again. I couldn't get enough of how comfortable and charming it was.

"Here we go," I heard Taeyeon say and watched as she approached me, after a minute or two, "I hope you like spaghetti carbonara."

I smiled instantly.

"I love it! In fact, pasta is my favorite food. Too bad I can't cook it. Thank you," I said, as she placed my plate on the coffee table in front of me before sitting down too.

I waited until she opened and poured the wine on the wine glasses and after that we started to eat quietly. I complimented Taeyeon on her cooking skills, the food was just great. "It's nothing much, really. You just end up having to learn how to cook at least the basics when you're by yourself living a busy life since so early in your life like it happened to me," she responded.

"So, how was the time at Starbucks today?" she asked, after a minute or two of silence.

"It was nice. I told you, I wish you had come. You would have fun. Just..."

"What?"

"I don't know," I chuckled. "After I talked to you, I got up to pick up our orders and when I got back to the table, Sunny and Sooyoung started to talk about something regarding Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. They wouldn't stop talking about it."

"Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? Really?" Taeyeon chuckled with me before sipping on the wine. "What did they say?"

"The most random things you can think of. They kept questioning me about what I thought of them and about their relationship. Sooyoung had her arms crossed over her chest and was staring at me as if she was some kind of cop that was about to arrest me for God knows what," I responded and shook my head.

I heard Taeyeon laugh out loud. I had never heard her laugh that way before. It was funny, and adorable, if I may say. "That broomstick..." she shook her head slowly, "I'm sorry if she made you feel uncomfortable, Tiffany."

"No, not at all. Just, um... It was curious, you know? I mean, in one minute we were talking about random things about ourselves and in the next I was suddenly being questioned about my thoughts on Brangelina."

We laughed again. "I bet Sooyoung looked pretty passionate while doing that," Taeyeon said. I agreed. "That's probably because she is Brad Pitt's biggest fan, you know."

"Is she?" I said and smiled before sipping on my wine. "Nice idol. Has she ever met him?"

Taeyeon shook her head again. "No. Neither have I. But we saw him a few feet away from us in this event a while ago."

"Really? What happened then?"

"Sooyoung almost fainted and started to violently shake my arm repeating 'My god! My god! It's him! Taengoo it's him!'" Taeyeon mimicked Sooyoung's expression and speech, making me laugh.

"I dare to say she took a while to recover from the experience."

"She did. She spent the last of the night and of the next day saying that she had seen Jesus in person and that her eyes were now blessed. I, on the other hand, had never been so damn embarrassed in my whole life. Thank goodness Mr. Pitt didn't see anything," she chuckled. I just kept laughing.

"How about you? Do you have any idol in Hollywood or someone you really look up to?" I asked her.

"Hm..." she thought for a moment or two before looking back at me, "No, not really. Of course, there are a lot of celebrities I admire very much, but I don't have one I could declare myself a fan of. Not like Sooyoung, at least," she giggled. "But I have to admit, I've been watching your movies recently," she said, as she looked at me right in the eyes and rested her back on the sofa that was right behind us.

"You..." I said, a little taken aback, blinking a few times, "Have you? Really?" I chuckled embarrassedly. "Why?"

"Yeah, really," she nodded and smiled. "Your acting on the first day of filming got me interested. They're great. And so are you. You have a wonderful taste on roles."

I smiled at her and lowered my face a little, trying to hide the pink spots I could feel forming on my cheeks. "Coming from you, it's a huge compliment. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled again. "And how about you? Do you have any favorite celebrity?"

Thank god she changed the topic.

"Ah... I have this soft spot for Tom Hiddleston," I chuckled once more.

She nodded. "He's a great guy."

"Have you met him?"

"Once," she made a pause, looking up, trying to recall the memory, "I think. We were at this party and I stumbled upon him, almost spilled my drink on his suit," she chuckled, "then we greed each other and had a small chat. He was a gentleman."

I pouted. Aw, man. She even met Tom Hiddleston.

"Don't worry," Taeyeon smiled, "you'll get to meet him one day. He'll love you, I'm sure."

We kept talking about anything, blurting out whatever would come to our minds. Moments later, when we fell silent, Taeyeon asked me if I would like to listen to some songs. She plugged her phone on the discreet black speaker she had in one corner of the living room and selected an album by Ed Sheeran, asking me if I would like it. I nodded and smiled. I liked Ed Sheeran a lot.

She came back and we left the floor, sitting down on the comfortable sofa behind us. She poured more wine on our wine glasses and break the silence after a few more minutes.

"What are you afraid of?"

The question made me stop in my tracks. I took a moment and sighed discreetly before breaking into a weak smile and looking at her again. "Clowns. You?"

"Bugs."

"I used to collect dead and dry bugs when I was little," I tried to change the subject.

She frowned.

"I don't do it anymore, okay?" I laughed at her.

"I hope so, otherwise I will never go to your house again if you ever invite me."

"No, I don't do it anymore. Nowadays they disgust me, but I'm not afraid. Why are you afraid of them?"

"I'm allergic to them. When I was little, a bee bit me and I fell so sick I had to go to the hospital and stay there for the night. And have you seen them? They're ugly. Unholy beasts, I'd honestly say," Taeyeon said before sipping on her wine, still frowning.

"Whoa. I didn't- I didn't even know someone could be that allergic to insects. I'm sorry, Taeyeon."

"No, don't be. It was a long time ago. But nowadays I just don't get near any bug, nuh-uh. My health is weak and I don't want to go to the hospital again because a one-inch creature decided to pierce my skin."

I chuckled again. "You'd better."

"And why are you afraid of clowns?"

I stared at her and smiled sadly. I was hoping she wouldn't go there. I never told this to anybody, not even Sunny knew about this. But Taeyeon's sincere eyes made me feel like I could let it out to her. I inhaled sharply before starting to speak in the softest and most steady tone I could.

"It's not that I'm afraid of clowns, actually, they don't scare me. It's just... They make me feel anxious, they bring back bad memories and they make me feel as if something tragic is going to happen. When I was 7, on my birthday, my parents took me and my brothers to a nearby circus that was in San Francisco. We all had a great time, I remember how much fun me and my mother were having together, she was such a lively woman. And there were plenty of clowns there. Pretty clowns, though. I thought that day was the best one ever," I made a pause to hold back my tears. "But after we got home, I don't know what happened, but my father and my mom started to fight. I remember that was not unusual, my parents were fighting pretty often back then. But that fight in particular was just... Violent. It didn't get physical, but they were brutal with their words. I was so young, but I remember it so clearly... My mom was crying a lot. But when she and dad decided to drop it, she came upstairs to give me and my siblings a good night kiss. She tried to hide her sadness, but she couldn't. We went sleep, but then, in the middle of the night... We were woken up by sirens. Dad had..." I stopped again, this time to quickly wipe away a lonely tear that had escaped, "Dad had found mom dead in the bathroom. She killed herself." I sighed heavily. "And this is why I hate clowns and also hate my birthday. Now I blame my father for what happened, and he knows that, this is why me and my family don't keep in touch very much nor get along very well."

I pulled myself together and dared to look at Taeyeon. I found her attentively looking at me, her sincere eyes now teary, her head shaking slightly.

"I'm sorry, Tiffany, I'm terribly sorry," she said as she placed her wine glass on the floor. I did the same. "Really, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad, I shouldn't have asked, I-"

"Hey, it's all right," I smiled weakly. "You just asked, it was my choice to tell you about that. One day I would have to open up about it, anyway. Thank you for giving me that opportunity. I feel a little bit lighter now."

"No one else knows about this?"

I shook my head.

Taeyeon kept staring at me for a while. She then gently placed her hand on the side of my head before hugging me and pulling me to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm really sorry. I didn't want to ruin your night."

I returned the hug. Somehow, it made me feel safe. "Stop apologizing, I've already told you it's okay. And don't say sorry for saying sorry. You didn't ruin anything. My night is great."

I heard her chuckle softly before she let go a little and turned her face to mine, gazing at my eyes again, without pulling the hand that was placed on my back away from it. "May I ask you when's your birthday?"

"You promise you won't ever congratulate me on it? I don't celebrate it."

Taeyeon simply nodded.

"August 1st."

"It's a pretty date. Do you know mine?"

"March 9th, isn't it?" I asked.

I chuckled as I watched her mouth open a little and her blink a few times.

"What? Do you really think I didn't google you? I google everyone. I might even google Prince someday."

She chuckled with me and I unconsciously rested my head on her shoulder. Then I found myself looking at her lips and I could swear to God she was doing the same to me. The thought of kissing her came to my mind and the fact that the time to do so was getting closer by the minute made me feel a little nervous, compelling me to break the hug and separate my body from hers. I didn't think she saw any awkwardness there, for she spoke to me normally afterwards.

"Thank you for sharing it with me, though. I feel like I'm getting to know a whole new Tiffany."

"Well, then thank you for inviting me over tonight. I feel like I'm getting to know a whole new Taeyeon, too," I finally smiled.

"Really? Why?"

"Well... Where do I begin? First, let's say that whoever looks at you wouldn't think you are afraid of bugs, not with the strong and powerful image you have because of your career. Second... I had never seen you wearing such cute clothes or wearing your hair like that for work, you always look so mature and professional then, you look good like this too, it suits you. Third, though not the last, but I think I'm already talking too much by now so I'll stop here... Who would ever think you are such a good cook?!"

Her melodic laugh escaped from her lips again, an amused tone added to it now.

"I think that's good then, you haven't said anything bad about me. I guess it feels like a new introduction?" she smiled.

I smiled back at her. "Most definitely."

x

x

...

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I woke up the next day with the feeling of my phone vibrating under the pillow. I roamed my hand through the bed looking for it, not bothering to open my eyes. I didn't even bother to bring it up to my ear either, for I just tapped the screen until I put the call on the speaker mode.

"Hello?" I said, sleepily.

" _Good afternoon, Romeo. How are you doing and why are you sleeping at 1PM in this beautiful autumn afternoon?_ "

"Who in the living hell is Romeo, Sooyoung?"

" _You. How was your dinner date with your Juliet last night?_ "

"One, it wasn't a date. Two, it was amazing, thank you for asking," I lazily smiled at the thought. "Three, what do you want?"

" _First, I want to tell you you're booked for this week's Friday. Second, I want to ask you if I can drop by your house today since we both have nothing to do and we don't seem to be spending much time together lately. I mean, as the friends we are. You know. Horror movies, random talks... Chocolate popcorn._ "

I chuckled. "You are most than welcome here anytime. Want to sleep over?"

" _YES! Great. I'll be there in an hour or two, okay? Wait for me and don't forget the chocolate popcorn._ "

"I know, I know. Four bowls. Leave it to me. And by the way, what am I booked for?" I asked before she could hang up the call.

" _Do you remember 'Good Morning, Wendy'?_ "

"That show I went to a few years ago in which we have breakfast with the host? Yes. Why?"

" _Well, you were invited to it again. The recording will be at 7AM on Friday. But that's not all._ "

"What else?"

" _I heard you'll have some company_ ," she said, and I could almost hear a smirk on that sentence. " _A short, black-haired bird told me you'll be having breakfast not only with Wendy, but also with someone else you, missy, have been appreciating a lot lately._ "

I smiled.

Tiffany.


	15. TaeNy

**POV — Taeyeon**

Sooyoung arrived just in time I had finished everything. The four bowls of chocolate popcorn were already lying on top of the coffee table and I had prepared the living room's carpet and sofa with lots of fluffy bedspreads and pillows. I ran to the door when I heard Sooyoung ring the doorbell.

"Hey," I smiled when I saw her.

"HEY KID," she eagerly and loudly said as she smiled back at me and entered my house, trying hard to handle all the things she was carrying, such as her huge sleepover pillow, a bag full of DVDs and this... McDonald's bag.

"Are you serious? McDonald's? I thought you'd told me to make chocolate popcorn," I said as I eyes the bag and closed the door.

"Why, can't I eat both? Don't sulk, I brought you fries, your favorite burger and that apple pie you haven't eaten in years."

"Whoa, you're sharing and buying food for me?" I smiled and watched as she placed her stuff on the sofa. "It looks like someone's becoming a lady here. I'm proud of you."

"Don't get your hopes too high, I bought me two of each of the items I just mentioned. You know. Hungry person," she shamelessly said and smirked.

"Yeah. Hungry person. More like the Food-Drama Queen. You speak and act as if you starve!" I chuckled and sat on the sofa.

"Though we both know I don't and never did," Sooyoung said and looked at me. "Are you on your pajamas already?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I've already taken a shower and we're not going out, are we?"

"Nope. Okay then," Sooyoung said as she plopped herself beside me, "tell me everything, don't hide anything, forget much less. Speak now."

I had to contain my chuckle. "Now."

"Funny. I mean it. I'm talking about the dinner, you know."

"I thought we were over this, Sooyoung," I frowned a little.

"I'm not. You didn't tell me what happened. I want to know, I have the right to," she said as she stuffed her hand on the McDonald's bag and grabbed one of the burgers, "I'm your best friend _and_ manager."

"I know, but... I don't understand your curiosity, Sooyoung. Really. It was a friendly dinner, that's all. It means nothing much or special is supposed to happen, I honestly don't think there's anything to tell you about it."

She just stared at me.

"What?"

"A friendly dinner, Taeyeon? Seriously? On your place, you probably cooked for her, she probably brought you wine and in the end I can picture you two relaxedly resting on the sofa."

I opened my mouth a few times until I could finally speak, "H-how did you-"

"How did I know that? Because that's how first dates work!"

"It wasn't a date!" I denied again. "The wine meant nothing. Much less the cooking or the location."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"You never did that to me. And we are friends, aren't we?" Sooyoung cocked her eyebrows.

Strike one.

"Th-that's because I never needed to. We met each other due work reasons. Our friendship came from our profession," I tried to justify. She was already making me nervous.

"Oh, drop it, Taeng. Accept that you took her on a date. Well, you didn't actually take her anywhere, you just... Invited her on a date. Really. Accept it," she giggled.

"I didn't! First things first, I never dated women, you moron."

"You are, however, on the very verge of kissing one, that being one of the things we are very certain that are happening sooner or later," she rebutted.

"... Maybe the changes in the script include no kisses or just a peck or something," I said and crossed my arms.

I watched as Sooyoung reached for a handful of fries that she later placed on the empty side of her hamburger's box. She then looked at me again and stared at me for a while.

"You," she said as she pointed one of the fries at me, "are in denial, my friend."

"Denial of what?" I rolled my eyes.

"You're feeling something, aren't you?"

I stared at Sooyoung for a few seconds and blinked my eyes a couple of times before recomposing myself and chuckling. "For Tiffany? No way," I shook my head.

"Yes. Yes you are. And this is exactly why you like to deny it. You don't want to have feelings for her but you know you are developing feelings for her. I know you, Taeyeon. And I know how crushes work too, I know it very well."

"Drop it, Soo! I don't have any feelings for her! She's my workmate and that's all. We are just trying to develop a good and steady friendship because we honestly like each other, don't you think that's good?" I frowned again.

"Oh, really? Are you going to tell me you wouldn't feel disappointed if you knew the kisses were seized from the script, even though it would be impossible to have a love story without at least one kiss?"

"I... No. My job is just to do whatever the director tells me to."

"Yeah, right. Then I believe you wouldn't tell me you didn't smile when you heard me tell you Tiffany was going to be with you on the breakfast show either."

Strike two. God damn it.

"I... I did, but that was because... I don't like doing interviews alone and I thought it could be fun for both of us."

Sooyoung placed one of her hands on my shoulder. "Accept it. Just do it. It's the most normal thing to artists."

"I am NOT in love with her!" I emphasized the 'not'.

Sooyoung just smirked. "Did I ever mention the word 'love', Taeyeon?"

"Well that's what you were implying, isn't it?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "I talked about crushes. I was implying you had a crush on her. I never said you were in love," she said as her smirk grew wider. I sighed.

"Can we just knock it off? Please?"

"Fine. We'll talk about it when you're ready. Just think about the things I've told you for now."

I nodded and we stayed quiet until Sooyoung had finished her snack.

"By the way, why the hell were you and Sunny talking about Brangelina to Tiffany?" I asked.

"She told you, huh?" she chuckled. "We were just asking her about her thoughts on relationships that rise from being romantic partners in a movie like theirs did."

I didn't even respond. I just grabbed a pillow and tossed it on Sooyoung's face. The latter just started to laugh out loud and I have in a few seconds later, letting out my own laugh.

"We should do this more, you know?" I told her.

"Sleepovers and movie afternoons during spare time? Agreed," she nodded.

"You could stay a few days here if you want to. I mean, this week. I have nothing to do."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. It gets lonely here sometimes," I smiled weakly. "But you have to wash your own dishes."

"Come on!" she complained. And then we laughed again.

x

x

...

The week had gone by pretty quickly. Sooyoung stayed with me until thursday and we had a lot of time to chat and catch up on everything. It was new for us, we were the best of friends but we had never stayed together for so long, at least not out of work. I felt like our bond grew stronger and that mad me really, really happy. I had always been the kind of person who could never excel on keeping the spark of my friendships alive, but it was so easy with Sooyoung. She was like a giant younger sister to me that took care of me like a mother. And I was thankful for that.

It was 5:30AM when Sooyoung dropped by my house to pick me up. I had to be at the studio at 6AM for makeup and all, and the recording and broadcasting would happen at 7AM. I wished it weren't a morning talk show. If it weren't, I wouldn't need to be up so early.

We arrived at the studio just in time and I was gladly surprised there were actually fans out there at such an early time in the morning. It was always very good to meet with them. Despite my tired and sleepy face, they still asked me to take pictures with them. And I did, after making my hand almost go numb from all the things that I had to sign, from pieces of papers until an... Arm.

I entered the studio and headed straight to get my makeup done. I asked for a natural look, I wouldn't want to look all dolled up at 7 o'clock in the morning, and I had always preferred the casual and simple look anyway. Luckily, the makeup artist was great and gave me a good simple makeup to match with my white skinny jeans, white high heels and baby pink button-up shirt. My hair had these loose curls I myself had made yesterday and my bangs were pinned with a small, black hair clip that was almost invisible. And I combined my outfit with a relatively big white and gold watch I had bought a few weeks ago and a discreet necklace.

It was around 6:45AM when I was sent to the waiting room. And a few minutes after I got there, I heard its door open and looked up from my phone, for I was using it while resting on the small sofa that was there.

"Taeyeon! Good morning!" Tiffany smiled and closed the door before coming to me. I got up immediately and pocketed my phone. "I was so excited when I heard you would be here too! I haven't seen you since Monday morning," she hugged me, "I missed you." I hugged her back and smiled.

"Yeah, me too," I said as we let go of the hug. I took a look at Tiffany. She looked awesome, her outfit was almost matching mine, only hers was an a-line, long-sleeved plain white dress that was combined with a thick black bow belt and equally black heels. On her wrists she had these pearl bracelets and her hair was very similar to mine, only more wavy then loosely curly. "Your outfit looks great."

"Thank you!" she smiled again. "So does yours. Love the shirt. Pink suits everyone, doesn't it?" she said as she sat down.

"You think so?" I chuckled.

"Yeah. But that's probably because I'm a big pink lover. I like how it can be an either powerful or delicate color, you know? I would have pink all around my house if I could, but... Even my love for it has its limits. It comes to a point where pink might hurt your eyes," she chuckled.

"Indeed it can," I looked at her and smiled.

"So, are we going in together?"

"Not sure," I replied, "but I believe so. Excited?"

"And nervous. Have you been here before?"

"Once," I nodded. "The food is delicious."

"It must be. Do you know if Wendy has cooks?"

"Oh, she cooks the breakfast herself, only we and the audience don't see it," I told her and smiled. "The staff are probably setting the table by now and Wendy must be finishing the food."

"She must work really hard then..." Tiffany said carefully, showing a bit of concern.

"That she must. I got up at 5AM just to get here in time, imagine at what time she probably had to get up to prepare everything."

"Yeah, me too. But her show is a weekly one, I believe she takes the rest of the week to get a good rest."

"Mhm," I nodded. It took me a couple of minutes to speak again. "Don't you think it's a little funny?"

"What?" Tiffany looked at me.

"Not even the name of the movie has been released yet and we're already being invited to TV shows to talk about it. I mean, it's pretty obvious that we are here to talk about the movie especially. And people are already making a big deal out of it even though all they've got is a promotional picture that, let's be honest, doesn't really say anything at all about the plot or whatever."

"Yeah... Yeah, it's curious. But isn't that a good thing? I mean, doesn't it mean people are already looking forward to it?"

"Perhaps," I said. "By the way, did Martin tell you anything about what we can or can not say?"

"No. I haven't spoken to him since Monday. In fact, I don't even know if he's aware we're here."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Really? That's not really like him... But, well, it's not like we can't handle a few questions, right? I mean, all this secrecy about the plot makes me a little anxious... I have never felt comfortable enough during interviews and having to watch closely what I say like now really drives me crazy, but... At least I have you to help me, you're a good speaker," I chuckled.

"Right," Tiffany chuckled with me.

"Hey," he heard a manly voice speak and instantly turned our faces to the door, "you two. Two minutes."

"Oh. Right. Are we supposed to go in together?" I asked.

"Up to you," the guys shrugged and left the room, closing the door.

Me and Tiffany quickly got up to tidy our outfits and exactly two minutes after that staff guy had left us, we heard our names being called and stepped into the show's setting. As soon as we did so, we could heard the fans screaming for us. Both of us chuckled and waved to them as we made our way towards Wendy, who was standing right in front of her white armchair that was placed opposite to two others around the big coffee table with a great amount good-looking food on it. We greeted Wendy and sat down. I crossed my legs.

"Well, welcome ladies, it's a pleasure to have you two here!" Wendy said and the audience applauded. "So, everyone's been talking about how Taeyeon Kim and Tiffany Hwang are going to make a movie together. Tiffany, Taeyeon's been here before, but it's your first time here. I want to know if you're as excited as I am, because I've been wanting to know you for some time now. You're even more beautiful in person!"

I discreetly watched Tiffany as she giggled shyly.

"Thank you," she smiled to Wendy. "And yeah it's my first time here and of course I'm excited!"

"And you, Taeyeon?" Wendy turned to me. "It's not your first time, right? You are probably very used to all these Hollywood cliché things by now."

I chuckled. "It's not my first time here, but it's not like there's nothing new to me. I came here years ago, your setting is different. Very pretty, by the way. But it's my first time being interviewed with a workmate," I smiled and mouthed a 'thank you' afterwards to the guy that brought me and Tiffany two glasses of orange juice.

"Oh, wait wait wait. Fifteen years of career and you've always been interviewed alone only?" Wendy asked me.

"Judge me by my roles, I've always ben independent," I chuckled and took a sip of the delicious orange juice. I could hear Wendy, Tiffany and the audience chuckling with me.

"What about you, Tiffany? Is this your first interview with a movie partner too?"

"Oh, actually, no," Tiffany smiled politely. "I was interviewed with Chad before. Chad Mills."

"Oh, Chad. He was in the spy movie with you, right? Breaking Into, right?" Wendy asked.

Tiffany chuckled and nodded. "Right."

"Talk about that guy, Tiffany. Even though it was your first big movie in Hollywood, during the filming, there were rumors about a supposed romantic relationship between you and Chad. Were those true?"

I frowned slightly. Chad Mills and Tiffany? No way. He was no guy for her. I had heard absurds about how he liked to go out and drink his ass off, not to mention the good amount of times he had been seen cheating on his girlfriend being caught on strip clubs. Fact that, I don't know why, Hollywood liked to ignore.

Not that I cared about who Tiffany dated or dates.

"Not true whatsoever," Tiffany smiled a little. "Chad was a... Nice partner to work with, but that's all. Nothing ever happened between us. Funny how people like to pair celebrities together, right?" se chuckled.

"I see. And you, Taeyeon?" Wendy turned to me again. "As far as we know you dated Brandon Collins, however you've never been caught on a date, not with him nor with anyone else."

Oh, goodness. After months. Brandon again.

"I... Did," I said as I smiled politely. "But no, I've never been caught. thankfully. Brandon was... Was something like, just in the heat of the moment, you know? Aside from what happened with him, I've never been really interested in dating. I never really cared about it. I've always felt happy enough with my passion for my work, I'm, um... Still waiting for someone that makes me feel the same passion for them as I feel for my work to show up," I said, though I hated how I had to lie about it.

"Ms. Hollywood is a sort of workaholic, you know. Married to her work, completely unromantic. I think she should try some chick-flicks for a change, maybe she opens up her heart for love," Tiffany said as she took a bite of a small chocolate croissant and chuckled, making the audience, Wendy and myself laugh too.

"Just because I don't like chick-flicks it doesn't mean I'm unromantic!" I argued.

"Well, that's another topic to discuss I see," Wendy took note. "You both choose very different roles to play, don't you? While one of you chooses those powerful, fierce, fiery, sensual roles, the other often prefers more... Relatable, feminine roles. How come the two of you got in the same movie?"

I looked at Tiffany, hoping she would understand that I'd rather not take the lead of that answer, and she looked back at me before starting to speak.

"Well, uh... You see, it's a very different movie for the both of us. We got really interested in the plot and... We saw it as a great chance to broaden our capacity as actresses and to do something really different, new and... I think I would say especially unique. It's quite unique," Tiffany responded and smiled gently, I just nodded all along her speech.

"You spoke very well of the plot. Do you two like it that much?"

"I do, I like it. I think it's very pretty," Tiffany said.

"I like it too," I nodded. "It's a big change for me, though. But I'm excited, curious about how it will turn out, too."

"So, Leah," Wendy pointed at me before pointing at Tiffany, "and Ella, right?"

We nodded. "Yeah, that's right," we said.

"I talked to your director, Martin Cox, and he personally chose an exclusive on-set picture to give me. Shall we see it?" Wendy said as the three of us turned our attention to the big television that was behind us. The audience started to cheer and we realized it was a picture of us filming that first scene of Leah and Ella together, hugging each other on the backyard. I looked at Tiffany, taken aback.

"Oh... Right," Tiffany said. I just remained quiet.

"So, we all know now that it's definitely not a spy or kicking-ass movie. We couldn't tell much from the promotion picture that was released, but with this one I think we can at least suppose. And people seem to be pretty excited about it. What can you girls tell us about the movie, then?" Wendy asked as the audience kept cheering. We chuckled embarrassedly.

"Uh... The movie is obviously about Leah and Ella," Tiffany said as she nodded, "they are best friends who were unwillingly separated when they were young, but years later they meet again and... The story is basically about how they feel about each other, about what happened and how a friendship might grow and develop, how things can or can not turn out."

"I see... But why all the secrecy? I watched Taeyeon on her latest interview with Betty and she said she couldn't reveal much about the movie. Cox says the same thing, not even the name of the movie has been revealed yet and now you're almost talking in riddles. Is there something you two have been hiding from us?" Wendy questioned.

"We just want it to be a big surprise, that's all. Because it's something that seems to be already very expected and cherished, we want it to be surprising, so I'm sure Mr. Cox and the producers will choose the right time to reveal whatever it needs to be revealed. We're still working hard, precisely defining the script and pouring every inch of our hearts and souls into this, so we believe being patient will pay off for everyone in the end," Tiffany said and smiled kindly.

After that, we kept having our breakfast calmly as Wendy asked us about casual and comfortable things to discuss about, like music, fashion and other things regarding our work and life as actresses. The tension of having to talk about the plot with someone that could be so prying like Wendy had gone away, and I actually managed to have a good time. I interacted a lot of Tiffany and we had fun, so it was okay.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

When we were done with the recording, which was something like an hour later, me and Taeyeon left the studio together, side by side. When we had just left it, we suddenly heard lots of screams and consequently, fans tried to run to pounce on us. I instinctively grabbed Taeyeon's arm and she placed her hand on my back, guiding me in a 'don't worry' way, that actually made me feel better. I thought I could never get used to fan harassment, however. Luckily, there were bodyguards there, so we could manage to walk to our parked vans peacefully.

We said goodbye after that and I entered the van. Sunny was already waiting for me there, but she was busy talking on the phone. I sat down and grabbed mine, unlocking it, ready to check my twitter. And I couldn't help but smirk and chuckle as I read the mentions I was receiving and the fans' tweets regarding the just-aired interview.

x

 _"OHMYMGOD DID EVERYONE SEE THAT #TAENY"_

 _"so is #taeny the official name for the taeyeon kim and tiffany hwang pairing?"_

 _"I'm going to die when this movie comes out, I can tell #taeny"_

 _"they are too perfect and cute! #taeny"_

 _" TiffanyHS i don't know what you and taeyeon kim are up to but yes please"_

 _"the hell was wendy thinkin when she mentioned brandon and chad? take a look at what's being born right in front of u woman #taeny"_

 _"it's the first interaction of theirs i see but i'm already obsessed with... taeny? #taeny"_

 _" TiffanyHS um hi you didn't date chad but if you want to date taeyeon please do it #taeny"_

X

"TaeNy, huh?" I muttered to myself as I chuckled again and locked my phone.


	16. Rehearsal

**POV — Tiffany**

"What are you laughing at?" I heard Sunny calling me. I didn't even notice she had already hung the phone call.

"Oh, nothing much," I smiled. "Just a few tweets and mentions I was reading about me and Taeyeon."

"Really? That early already?"

"Mhm," I nodded. "Already. They're calling us TaeNy," I chuckled again. "How do you like it?"

"TaeNy?" Sunny chuckled too, "Sounds cute. Has Taeyeon seen such tweets yet?"

"No. I mean... I don't know," I frowned. "Actually, I don't even know if she has any social network account at all."

"You should ask her then. Why don't you suggest she creates a Twitter account or something?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah. It wouldn't hurt, right?" Sunny smiled.

"You're right," I smiled back at her. "I'll do it when I get home. We're done for today, aren't we?"

"We are. And if you don't mind, Fany, I would love to go home and get some rest, because insomnia got me last night and I couldn't even take the smallest of naps," she sighed.

"Not at all. Do rest," I said as I rubbed Sunny's back gently. The poor little bunny looked way too exhausted.

I threw myself on my sofa as soon as I got home and smiled when I saw Prince jumping on it with me. I petted him and grabbed my phone, dialing Taeyeon's number.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hey! Can you speak now?" I smiled.

" _Tiffany, hi! Yes, yes I can. What's wrong?_ " Taeyeon replied.

"Actually, nothing at all. It's just that I was wondering, do you have any social network accounts? Like, Twitter or Instagram, maybe?"

I heard her chuckle. " _You called me just to ask that?_ "

"Come on!" I chuckled with her. "Yes I did. So?"

" _Um... No, I don't. I'm like an eighty-year-old lady when it comes to the internet, Tiffany_."

"Would you consider opening one?"

" _What's with this topic?_ "

"It's just that in my way back home I saw a few tweets and mentions I got on Twitter about our interview earlier this morning and they were pretty funny," I giggled. "I thought maybe you would enjoy making a Twitter account or I don't know. I mean, it's a good way to keep in touch with the fans and to know what they are talking about your work. The mention thing is also pretty entertaining, you know."

" _Hm, I see. Yeah, I could consider opening an account,_ " I heart her say while munching on something," _if I had someone to teach me how to properly use these things. I wouldn't want to embarrass myself in front of a country._ "

"I could teach you," I offered.

" _Good. We can do this on the set on Monday, maybe? If we have any spare time there."_

"Yeah, sure. You'll like it, I bet. Have a nice weekend, Taeyeon."

" _You too, dear. Bye!_ " she said, before hanging up the call and not allowing me to respond.

"... She called me... Dear?" I thought out loud to myself. That was... So unlike her. She wasn't that lovely and warm to people, usually. But I let go of the thought.

The weekend passed by very quickly. In a blink of an eye, it was already Monday morning. I woke up eagerly to get to work because I was really curious about the modifications on the script, though I was feeling a little anxious too. The weather was getting more and more chilly by the day, so I chose a baby pink sweater with these white skin-tight jeans and white shoes to go to the studio. Sunny had asked for a day off the night before, so I went by myself with my car. As soon as I got there, I went to the makeup room and found Taeyeon already there, getting her hair done. I greeted the hairstylist and the makeup artist before I looked at Taeyeon.

"Good morning," I smiled and greeted her.

"Hey," she smiled back. "How are you?"

"At 7am o'clock? Sleepy," I chuckled. "But I'm curious about the script? You?" I said as I placed my stuff on one of the armchairs of the room.

"Curious too. But surprisingly enough, not sleepy nor tired. I think it's because I'm feeling a little anxious."

"Why? Do you think the modifications are going to be bad or something?"

"No, not that. Just... Just anxious. I don't know why," she giggled.

I sat down and laid back as the makeup artist started to do my makeup. It didn't take long until I had my makeup and hair all done. Me and Taeyeon were ready to go to the dressing room and put on our outfits for the day when Martin entered the room.

"Good morning you two," he smiled. "How curious are you about the script, huh?"

"A lot," we said together and chuckled.

"I thought so. Let's talk about it, shall we?" he said before looking at the other girls in the room. They excused themselves and closed the door so we could talk properly. Me and Taeyeon turned our chairs to Martin.

"Well, basically... Nothing special about the story has been changed. The storyline is the same, the only difference is... Instead of one kissing scene, you'll have like, 3. The writer thought having only one kissing scene would make the movie too... Emotionless. So she added two more scenes," he nodded.

I gulped silently. Three. Three kissing scenes. As if the slightest idea of only one wasn't enough to make me nervous.

"... Oh," I said. "That's... Okay."

"Y-yeah," Taeyeon followed me. "So, um... When will we shoot them?"

"In fact, today," he smiled. "We can shoot the first one today. I'll give you a few hours to prepare yourselves and study the scene and the new script and then we can shoot it. We are a month, or so, far from calling the filming a wrap, so we'd better get to work," Martin said as he handled Taeyeon a copy of the new script.

"A month? Already?" she asked.

"Yeah," Martin chuckled. "This kind of movie doesn't take long to film, Taeyeon. Especially when one works with actresses like you and Tiffany, who work so diligently," he smiled once again. "Well, I'll leave you two now," he said as he made his way to the door. "Oh, and by the way... May I give you some advice?"

Taeyeon and I looked at each other and then nodded at him

"Maybe you two should rehearse a little. You know, I can see you two are nervous, that's completely fine, I've worked with actors in the same situation as you and it's very natural. So for you to not feel embarrassed or too uneasy on the camera, maybe a little practice wouldn't hurt, right? Bye!" he said as he left us and closed the door.

I was left dumbfounded.

"Did he just-" I began.

"Tell us to practice kissing each other? I'm afraid he did," Taeyeon completed and nodded, still eyeing the door, apparently as frozen and stiff as I was.

We fell silent for a moment before Taeyeon got up and held my hand, guiding me to the small sofa that was on the corner of the room.

"Look," she said as we both sat down,"... Let's be honest, okay? We're both freaking out on the inside. Neither of us has ever done this before, but... Let's at least try to do what he said, yeah?"

"It's not like I want to avoid it, I swear! It's just... I tend to mess up when I get nervous, I don't want to mess up in front of you. You're still like a Hollywood guru to me. Gimme that," I said as I frowned and took the script from her hand.

"I get it, I really do," Taeyeon chuckled. "It's not like I'm not nervous like you. Let's read it together, okay? No rush. Let's just see what's waiting for us."

I looked at her for a few seconds before nodding. I opened the script and carefully went through the pages until I found one that had these few lines highlighted, indicating that the first modification was there. I sat closer to Taeyeon and placed the script on top of my thighs so that we both could read it.

I took a look at Taeyeon's focused eyes before I started to read the script. It was indeed a new and different scene. The girls were saying bye to each other in front of Ella's house's door after hanging out during the afternoon.

x

...

 **ELLA**

 _ **I'm sorry I made you drive all the way here.**_

 _ **Ella looks apologetically at Leah as the both of them approach the door.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **There's no problem, you know it. But I do think your mother should've chosen a home closer to mine.**_

 _ **Leah chuckles. Ella chuckles with her.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Maybe we can move. She's almost miraculously getting better, I'm so happy. I know mother's health has never been the best, but... I was really worried about her this time. But I think all she needed was the company of her loved ones. So did I, I suppose.**_

 _ **Ella rests her shoulder on the door. She stares at Leah.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Did you?**_

 _ **Ella nods.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **We both felt very lonely back in London. Especially me, I think. Not having you around was... Scathing.**_

 _ **Leah looks at Ella, longingly. She tries to say something, but she can't manage to open her mouth. They keep staring at each other.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Anyway, I... Thanks for the afternoon. Never thought you would still be fun after all those years. Promise we will do this more often?**_

 _ **They chuckle.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Promise. Tomorrow I'm busy, but... On Saturday, perhaps?**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **I don't know if you remember, but your mom decided to cook me and my mom dinner on Saturday. And invite their friends. And family. And... God knows what else aunt Kathy is up to.**_

 _ **They chuckle together again.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Fine, fine. See you in two days, then?**_

 _ **Ella opens the door, ready to go in.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Two days it is. I'm probably gonna sleep over. Still afraid of scary movies?**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Not even a bit, not anymore.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **We'll see.**_

 _ **Ella hugs Leah tightly. Leah closes her eyes and returns the hug, sighing inaudibly. Ella breaks the hug and touches Leah's cheek. She smiles at Leah before letting go.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Bye. Take care.**_

 _ **Ella turns her back at Leah and is ready to enter the house. Leah keeps looking at her from behind. She holds Ella's wrist and stops her.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Ella, wait.**_

 _ **Ella looks back at Leah.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **You... Love me, don't you?**_

 _ **Ella furrows her eyebrows. She doesn't understand why the sudden question. She takes a step back and holds Leah's face, smiling kindly at her.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Of course I do. Always have. You are my best friend, you're my family.**_

 _ **Leah almost smiles. She places her hands on Ella's forearms. Ella is confused.**_

 **LEAH**  
 _ **Would you forgive me if I did something that could hurt you or that you didn't like?**_

 _ **They look into each other's eyes.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **Leah, I... I don't understand, why are you- I mean, yes, I would forgive you. But why are you asking me this now?**_

 ** _Leah keeps staring into Ella's eye's. She brings her face closer to Ella's and places a chaste kiss on her lips, slightly pressing their lips together. Ella closes her eyes for a moment and returns the kiss for a second, unsure. She then opens her eyes and watches as Leah pulls away and lets go of her_.**

 **LEAH**  
 _ **I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ella, really. I didn't- I just couldn't hold it back anymore. I...**_

 _ **Ella interrupts Leah. She is taken aback and her face has almost no immediate expressive reaction.**_

 **ELLA**  
 _ **No, it's... Fine. Um... Just, goodnight Leah.**_

 **Ella enters the house and closes the door, resting her back on it and sighing heavily, her eyes a little teary.**

x

...

"Wow, that's just..." I said as I finished reading the scene.

"Beautifully written," Taeyeon added. I just nodded.

"Indeed. Such an emotional scene. And I'm glad Ella's mother is getting better. I didn't really want to go through a mother's death in scene..." I muttered.

"I see," Taeyeon smiled weakly. "Well, um... I think the filming will start in an hour or so. You know, Martin wants us to familiarize with the new scrip and the scene but we can't really delay the filming very much. We can read the scene a few more times, right? I'm sure we can memorize our lines after a few readings."

I suddenly caught myself looking at Taeyeon's lips. ... Should I? No, I shouldn't. What Martin said was just a suggestion, it didn't actually mean we were obliged to do it and plus, Taeyeon didn't mention the topic.

"Uh, right," I said and smiled, "sure. Let's do it."

After 40 minutes or so, we both had already mastered our respective lines. And I must say, we had a great time practicing them.

"Tiffany, I..." Taeyeon broke the silence, "How am I supposed to say this?" she chuckled, "We haven't, you know, talked about the... Kiss."

"I know, I know. Sorry. I mean, I told you, it's not like I want to avoid it, but... You know. I'm used to kissing people when I'm acting but it's kind of awkward to think my director told me to kiss something in order to kiss this same someone properly when I'm acting... I feel like I'm making this big deal out of something that shouldn't be a big deal and that therefore I'm messing up your job and-"

"Hey, it's okay," Taeyeon kindly reassured me as she took my hand. "I've seen it happening before. I mean, this. It's a very emotional scene and we both are nervous because of it, you should believe me when I'm nervous to, but... If you don't want to do it, that's fine. You know, there are people who work better under pressure, maybe you'd feel better if we kissed only during the filming," she said and smiled calmly at me. I was about to respond when we heard her phone ringing. "Wait a minute, I have to answer it. It's Sooyoung. We'll talk again in a second," she said as she got up and took a hold of her phone.

I stayed there looking at her. You know what? No. I didn't want to not to do it. Kissing her definitely wouldn't hurt and I had no idea what the fuck I was scared of. I'm a grown up woman, I'm an actress and above all, I'm a professional. Let's do this. Now.

I got up and followed her. I held her shoulder when she was about to open the door to leave the room and turned her to me. I held her cheek with my other hand and then finally kissed her. I didn't know where I got the guts to do that from, but I did it. I did it and it was guiltily good. I thought she was going to push me away, but the next thing I felt was her hands on my back after hearing the sound of a cell phone hitting the ground. And then we were sliding our lips against each others'. Slowly. Painfully slowly. I pushed her a little and her back rested on the door, her hands still on mine. I would be lying if I said I had never imagined how kissing Taeyeon would feel like, but what was happening was beyond my expectations.

But it was still something I wasn't really supposed to be doing. Not like that. A chaste kiss, like the script said, would be enough. A simple, longer peck on the lips, perhaps. Lip-pressing, that would do it. But we were already kissing for real and oh boy, what a kiss. When reality hit me, I instantly pulled away, only to find a heavy-breathing Taeyeon in front of me, with an expression that I couldn't read. But I knew it wasn't something bad. I had to take a few seconds to stare at Taeyeon before I could say anything.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so so so sorry," I said as I stepped back and felt my face turning red like a tomato. I looked at the floor and I could see that Taeyeon's phone's screen was cracked. Shit.

Taeyeon was about to approach me when we heard the door opening behind her. Thankfully, we could recompose ourselves quickly and act as if nothing had happened. That was one of the advantages of being an actress.

And thank God we didn't have lipstick on.

"Hey girls, knowing how professional and efficient you both are I believe you already manage to memorize your lines, right?" Martin said as he entered the room. "Now, we have to get everything ready, today is a busy day. If everything goes out as planned, tomorrow you can arrive later and get some rest. Taeyeon, the stylist is having some problems with the outfit, can you please meet her at the dressing room? I guess she needs to make a few adjustments. Tiffany, you come with me," he said as he smiled at me. I watched shyly as Taeyeon nodded and made her way out of the room.

From that moment onwards, we didn't have the chance to speak to each other. It was indeed a busy day. I kept answering phone calls that Sunny redirected to me amidst posing for more promotional pictures on the set, retouching my makeup, paying close attention to Martin's instructions and restudying my lines, plus a lot more of work. Taeyeon was probably in a similar situation. And although I tried to keep my mind two-hundred percent focused, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened between Taeyeon and me. I struggled with myself until I finally admitted that Taeyeon provided me the best kiss of my entire life. That yearning for more, I felt it after I kissed her and I had never felt it before, not even with one of my past boyfriends. It was insanely good and I was concerned about whether I could manage myself when we had to shoot the first kissing scene at last.

And not only was it good. The sensation overwhelmed me. I was freaking out too much to think about it right after I kissed her, but the more I thought about it after that, the more frustrated I would get for not being able to fathom what that sensation was. It was ineffable. Nothing like I had ever felt before. Many thoughts were running through my head: I considered being just confused, mixing my own feelings and Ella's feelings up. Or maybe it could be just nervousness. Or maybe it could be neither and I could be...

No. Not that.

"Tiffany?" I heard Martin's voice near me, calling me out of my musing.

"Yes?" I tried to flash him my best natural smile.

"Ready, dear? Are you and your lines already friends? Everything's okay?"

"Yeah," I chuckled, "everything is just fine. I was just... Getting into character."

"Good. Taeyeon will be here in a minute and then we can start. I know you both know exactly what to do and how. I'm trusting not only your talent but also your feelings. You'll do a good job, I bet we'll be done in a take or two," he said and smiled warmly at me, patting me on the shoulder. I nodded and smiled back at him, getting up from my chair and placing the script that was in my hands there.

It didn't take long and Taeyeon arrived, and from the way she kept running her fingers through her hair here and there, I assumed she had been fixing it. We managed to shoot the scene calmly and smoothly, everything went well and we both were completely dialed-in. Martin yelled 'CUT!' right before the part when Leah kisses Ella, and we knew it was time. My hands were placed on Taeyeon's soft cheeks and hers were placed on my forearms, and I was trying my best to hide the utter dead-nervous look in my eyes behind my character "mask." When Martin yelled that famous three-word sentence again, Taeyeon didn't take not even a second to connect her lips with mine, precisely recreating the chaste kiss we had read about a couple of hours ago. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, strugglingto fight the same sensation from before that was trying to take over my body. Three seconds after, I continued to follow the script and we managed to successfully finish the scene. Martin shouted another 'CUT!' and we were done. He said it was perfect and that we wouldn't need another take. We had 'nailed it," as the man liked to say.

The day continued as busy as before. Me and Taeyeon filmed our individual scenes and some others with our respective 'moms.' Though Martin had initially said we wouldn't rush any part of the movie during the filming time, he thought it was better for us to finish all the scenes with Trish and Miranda so he could dismiss the women, for each of them was already talking about new project. I'd like to remember what they were talking about, but I was still busy thinking about the kiss. I mean, the kisses. I had kissed Taeyeon twice.

A few hours later and I was already leaving the studio. I didn't see Taeyeon anymore. I got in my car and as I started to drive, I remembered all that had happened that day. The first kiss, the second, that crazy atmosphere between us and... The fact that because of me, Taeyeon's phone was now cracked. Great. I stopped by an Apple Store and got her the new iPhone 6. It was the least I could do for everything that happened that day.

When I got home, I took a shower and got in my favorite pajama pants and hoodie. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and made my way down the stairs, plopping myself on the sofa. I watched as Prince joined me.

"Hey there little guy," I said as I looked at him. "Are we up for a movie session?"

He barked.

"I'll take that as a yes. Too bad you are so small and don't have thumbs, Prince. I would love if you could bring me the strongest alcoholic beverage you could find in this house."

He barked twice.

"What? Adults sometimes drink to forget about their problems. Or about when they mess up. Like today. I messed up today," I sighed and rested my head on the sofa, swapping the channels on the television before I looked at Prince again, who now was making his way to my lap. "God knows what she's thinking about me now."

Prince settled himself on my thighs and I turned my attention back to the TV. I started to swap the channels again, but couldn't manage to find anything nice enough to watch. It's amazing how television never offers anything interesting to watch when you actually want to.

I gave in and placed the remote control beside me. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, opening Twitter and starting to scroll down on my timeline. Everything was as boring as the TV and I was starting to get annoyed. It's not that hard for me to entertain myself, usually. I was already frowning at my phone screen when I heard this familiar voice that startled me out of my boring activities. Ilooked up at the television.

"Seriously now?" I muttered to myself when I saw Taeyeon's face on the TV screen. It was an old movie, her face was so young. She was probably on her teenage years, I thought to myself. And she was already so pretty.

"Damn you, Kim, I was starting to forget about you!" I said as I threw one of the sofa's cushions towards the TV.

My eyes traveled to the coffee table in front of me. I had placed the iPhone box there. I stared at it for a moment before I sighed heavily and gently took Prince off of my lap to get up and as I did so, I grabbed the small box.

"Fine. If I'm up at 10pm at night after one of the most exhausting work days of my life and completely disturbed by my emotions, I premise so is she," I said to myself.

I didn't bother to change. I grabbed my purse and put the box in it before leaving the house and making my way to the car. I had saved Taeyeon's address from the day she invited me to have dinner at her place. I read it once again to make sure I wouldn't make the wrong way there and started to drive.

Everything was going just fine and I was actually getting a little calmer until I noticed I got myself in a downpour. Excellent. That was just- it was just very, very good. I didn't have an umbrella. Again. And Taeyeon most certainly wasn't there to help me out.

I smiled a little at the memory.

I slowly parked my car as I approached her house. I looked around and thankfully, there weren't any paparazzi. I looked at the pouring rain and sighed defeatedly before grabbing my purse and getting out of the car, running towards the door. Not that running would help in anything. I was already soaking wet after 10 seconds in the rain.

And when I finally reached the door, I rang the doorbell in a blink of an eye. I just wanted to get out of that freezing rain.

* * *

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I sipped my drink before sighing for the millionth time since I arrived home that night. I could occupy my mind with the two scripts I received today and didn't have time to read, but my thoughts were all back in the makeup room, when Tiffany kissed me. I couldn't manage to distant myself from those thoughts, let alone the sensation that ran through my whole body when that happened. I was sure, I was entirely and a hundred percent sure I would've kissed her again if Martin hadn't entered that room. I would, because I wanted more from the moment her lips left mine.

And that feeling was haunting me. Never in my entire life had I even considered being with a woman and look at what she did. She kissed me and left me literally... Craving for . Almost as if my lips were tingling. My whole body would feel numb whenever I'd recall that moment. God knows the massive amount of self-control I had to pull off while filming that kissing scene.

If it depended on me, she would be pressed against the nearest wall on my first opportunity.

The sound of the doorbell jolted me out of my thoughts and got me slightly confused. Who the heck would leave their house to pay me a visit at almost 11 o'clock at night in that pouring rain, I thought. I got up from the sofa and put my drink down, making my way to the door, only to open it just to find a soaking wet Tiffany looking at me. I was slightly deadpanned.

"Look! Listen! I'm here to apologize for what happened today. I couldn't be in peace at home and I needed to apologize to you personally and... Somewhere... Away from the studio, I'm sorry. I don't know if I scared you or not, I, I don't even know why I did that, I just-"

I cut her off by grabbing the back of her neck and bringing her lips to my own. I didn't need her explanations. Let alone her apologies, I didn't want them. I held her back with my other hand and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her and pressing her against it, fully kissing her on the lips now, feeling somewhere between surprised and utterly happy she was kissing me back. My fingers intertwined themselves on her hair as we moved and slid our lips together rhythmically, and I felt her cold hands gently touch and hold my cheeks. It was a surprisingly sizzling kiss that created that same previous sensation within my body.

When we had to break the kiss to breathe, I heard and felt her sighing weakly against my lips. I opened my eyes and looked at her, that cute confused look on her eyes. She was breathing heavily, her hands resting on my shoulders.

"I came here to apologize for doing this to you earlier and then you do it to me, Taeyeon?" she questioned me, almost as a whisper.

I kept looking at her and smiled. I held her back with both of my hands and carefully pulled her body away from the door a tad, resting my nose on her own.

"I don't want you to apologize for something we both enjoyed so much," I whispered back.

She looked into my eyes for a moment, before holding my face again and pressing our lips together, slowly. I just kissed her back, smirking a little against her mouth and embracing her waist.

The talk could wait a little longer.


	17. Late-night Selfie

**POV — Tiffany**

"You are seriously so petite! I'm almost envious of you! Look at this! The hoodie you lent me is just fine, but these sweatpants are literally squeezing my belly fat out," I said as I stepped into the kitchen and adjusted the clothes Taeyeon had lent me on my body, for mine were soaking wet due the rain. I had already dried my hair, too.

I heard Taeyeon chuckle. "I'm not _that_ small and you are not fat whatsoever. And just for your information, there's nothing for you to be envious of," she said as she grabbed two black mugs from one of the small cabinets. "Being small and petite can be a nuisance sometimes. It's very hard to find clothes that don't look oversized on me, and I can't even the amount of items I've bought that had to be adjusted."

I giggled softly and nodded. "Maybe you're right."

I rested my right shoulder on the kitchen's door and watched as Taeyeon poured a steamy and brown liquid into the mugs. Judging by its appearance and also by the smell that spread through the kitchen, I assumed it was hot chocolate.

The events from that night and day kept running wild through my mind before I let out an anxious sigh. _Maybe it was time to talk about it_ , I thought.

"Taeyeon."

She simply hummed in response.

"What now?"

She looked at me for a moment. She then picked up the two mugs and walked towards me, carefully handing me one of them.

"What do you mean?" she asked me.

I took the mug and smelled the hot chocolate. I wanted to smile, but I needed to keep the conversation serious, and I was focused on my task.

"What are we going to do now? Are we going to pretend nothing happened by tomorrow? Are we going to just keep kissing throughout the whole night then wake up the next morning and act as if tonight didn't happen?"

She smiled at me and sipped her hot chocolate. "No. We will kiss tonight then kiss again tomorrow."

"I mean it, Taeyeon."

"So do I. We are really going to kiss tonight and we are also going to kiss tomorrow because I don't know if you remember, we are in a movie and whether you like it or not, I'm your best friend and something like your love interest in it," she said as she placed her hand on my back and led me out of the kitchen and towards the living room.

I followed her lead, but kept looking at her.

"Taeyeon, I really mean it. Talk seriously."

She looked at me and smiled faintly. We sat down side by side on the sofa and she placed her mug on the coffee table. "Sorry. I'm still trying to handle this properly. Look, I..." she sighed then looked at me again, "I don't know what this is, my mind is just as messy as yours right now. I feel a little lost too. And I don't know where this is leading us to either, but... I do want to discover. I mean, I like it. Don't you?"

I felt her place one of her hands on top of my own and smiled to myself. I did like it a lot. It felt good. I really wanted to explore that. I just didn't know how.

"I do. But... I don't... Are you suggesting we should just keep stealing kisses here and there until we figure out what's going on between us? Like friends with benefits or something? Because seriously, Taeyeon, if that's what you have in mind... I... I don't think I can do it. I'm sorry, that's not- it just isn't the kind of situation I would picture myself in or put up with. It just doesn't feel right to me. So if that's what you want, I'd rather pretend tonight was just a dream," I said, honestly, as I lifted my eyes that were staring down at my mug and met hers.

I found Taeyeon gazing at me while having what seemed like a short musing. For a moment, I thought my words had hurt or scared her, and then I almost rued opening my damn mouth to speak like that. It wasn't until Taeyeon placed my mug beside hers on the coffee table before cradling my face with her warm hands and bringing it close to her own that I relaxed.

"Fine then. Date me," Taeyeon whispered, her stare almost piercing my eyes.

I was taken aback for a moment.

"W-what?"

"Wouldn't an actual relationship as dating make you feel more comfortable?"

"Taeyeon, that is a big leap."

"Would it or not?" she insisted.

"Well, yeah, but still-"

"Then I'll take that as a yes," Taeyeon smirked and let go of me.

"Taeyeon! I'm serious here!" I took a pause before continuing, "Claiming someone as yours isn't a joke."

She picked up her mug and sipped on her hot chocolate. I watched her as she placed the mug back down and looked at me as I spoke.

"I wonder what would ever make you think I take you or this as a joke."

"I didn't say you do or that I think that way. It's just... Everything is happening so fast and you seem to be completely okay with its speed and I'm kind of paranoid that I'm the only one freaking out."

Taeyeon furrowed her eyebrows a little. "And I am. I am okay with that. I don't want to let this slip through my fingers, Tiffany. I want to live the moment, you know. I've always been like that. I don't care about what the future holds, to be quite honest. I just don't want to lose what's happening now, I want to grasp it and make the most of it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that or with going with the flow."

I just kept staring at her.

"I mean, if you don't want to do this, it's okay, fine... As long as you accept and deal with the fact that from now on I'll hound you around the studio," Taeyeon cocked one of her brows. I just chuckled.

"I didn't say I don't want it."

"You didn't say you want it either. So?"

I smirked as I couldn't take my eyes off Taeyeon's face. Her words sound like the truth.

"You're right," I nodded.

"Is this a yes?"

"It sure is," I smiled and watched her smile back at me.

"Again, what now?" I said and chuckled after a few seconds of us both staring at each other without saying a word.

"Now this," Taeyeon responded, smiling, as she approached me and took my face in her hands once again before brushing her nose on my own and then finally and one more time closing the gap between us.

x

...

"All right, so," Taeyeon said as she tapped and opened the Instagram app, "... What is this for?"

I had given her the iPhone I got her for making her old one crack. She said I didn't need to do that and she showed a little concern about me spending my money on her, but she admitted she was happy because she was indeed planning to get one of the new iPhones. I can't even count how many times she thanked me. I was glad I made her that joyful. And luckily enough, Taeyeon knew how to perfectly take the SIM card from her old phone and insert it on the new one, so she could turn on and use the present I gave her right away. She said she had mastered such task because she's always been really unsteady with cell phones, she would often change them, even if they were brand new; and as she couldn't go to a store that often to change the SIM card, she had to learn how to do it by herself. But she did make her point saying that having so many different cell phones wasn't out of luxury, it was just because none of them would ever please her completely.

It was almost 3am now. When it was past 1am, I told her I had to leave because it was already too late, but she didn't let me. She said I couldn't drive home that late at night, especially when the rain was still falling down steadily. She insisted that she could lend me some of her clothes tomorrow morning to go to work and though I had tried to tell her a thousand times I thought it would be better if I went back home, she still managed to talk me into staying there for the night. So I finally gave in and as neither of us was sleepy or tired, probably because of all the events of that night and day, we agreed on getting Taeyeon her Instagram and Twitter accounts at last.

"That's for posting pictures," I responded. "Only pictures."

"... That's all?" she cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh... Yeah. Come on, it's impossible that you don't know how Instagram works! Like, everyone uses it! Even Obama has an account, okay?"

"I swear I don't! I told you, I'm not that familiar with the internet... Let alone its... Um... Trends. Or social networks. I hardly ever go on the internet to have fun. I usually read or play games on my spare time. Or sleep," Taeyeon said as she tapped the screen a few times. "Or google stuff. I googled you, once."

"You googled me?"

"Yep. Back when I was told I was going to work with you," she nodded.

"Oh... Really?! That's... No, wait, that's not the point. Let's go back to the Instagram thing. I'm sure you'll really get into this as soon as you learn how to use it. Let's create your account. Do it as it tells you to."

"What can my username be?" she asked, frowning, after diligently following the app's instructions for a few seconds.

"Why don't you start trying by the easiest one? Taeyeonkim?"

"Right. Wait," she said as she typed the username, "what?! Taken? How? I don't use this thing! How can it be taken?" she panicked. I found it strangely endearing.

"That's probably taken by some fan of yours, Taeyeon. They do that. It's called a fan account. They create... Profiles, pages dedicated to their idols to show them support and love. It's all around the internet, in every social network. You'd be quite amused, I think."

"Oh. I see. Then... What do you think of taeykim?"

"It's nice," I nodded. "Try it out. Maybe it's free for use."

"It is!" she cheerfully exclaimed after registering the username. "Now what?"

"Now you upload a profile picture and start following people."

"Like whom?"

"Me!" I smiled. "Tap that little magnifier over there then tap the search space. My username is tiffanyhsx. I wish it could've been only tiffanyhs, like my twitter username, but it was already taken when I created my account... So I had to add the little 'x' in the end. But it's fine, I guess."

"TiffanyhS?" Taeyeon asked me, emphasizing the 's.' "What does the S stand for?"

"Stephanie," I responded.

Taeyeon kept looking at me with a questioning look on her face, blinking her eyes a few times in confusion, as if she were questioning me.

"My real name is not Tiffany, Taeyeon. It's Stephanie. I changed it to Tiffany when I decided to become an actress, only not officially. Legally, I'm still Stephanie Hwang, acually."

Taeyeon's jaw dropped.

"But... But... Really? But I've never seen anyone call you Stephanie or ask you why you changed your name."

I chuckled. "The media doesn't really question artists on their name choices, Taeyeon. And I don't refer to myself as Stephanie. I like Tiffany better."

"Why?"

"It was the name my mom wanted to give me. It's my way of telling her she's with me every single day and moment of my life," I said and smiled weakly.

Taeyeon smiled gently and me and took one of my hands, wringing it carefully.

x

...

"Okay, all done!" Taeyeon exclaimed. "My Instagram account's been created and so has my Twitter one, and I've already followed you and my favorite people," she said, smiling proudly to herself while fixing her profile picture on Twitter, 20 minutes after we started with the whole 'let's give Taeyeon a social and globalized life' thing. I took a couple of those minutes to teach her the most basic functions of both Twitter and Instagram, so she wouldn't feel lost, though I was sure she could perfectly learn it by herself. Only she was still a little... Lazy to do that on her own. Kind of unmotivated, if I can put it that way. Taeyeon wasn't really the kind of person who liked to show herself off, she was a very private woman, that I had noticed. "... Now what?" she said as she kept staring at the screen.

I snickered. I unlocked my phone and held it up, approaching my face to Taeyeon's.

"Selfie time," I said. "Let's take a picture and I will post it and tag you on it, so people can see you're now part of the internet society and follow you."

"Will that suffice?"

"Sure. Trust me, you'll see. You'll get thousands of followers in minutes."

After a few clicks with my phone's camera, we thought we had enough pictures and started to go through them. We chuckled together as we chose the silliest one, Taeyeon was showing off her tongue and doing some dorky facial expression and I had this giant and stiff smile on my face while my eyes were closed tightly.

"This one will do it," I said and nodded as opened the picture on Instagram and started to edit it a little.

I felt Taeyeon's chin rest on my shoulder as I finished editing the picture before typing its caption and tagging her.

"Now that I know you have two names, what am I supposed to call you?"

I chuckled. I turned my face to hers and looked at her as I posted the picture on Instagram and shared it on Twitter.

"Are you serious?" I said and she nodded. "Well, everyone calls me Tiffany. But if you want to call me Stephanie that's okay too, I like both. Just don't think I'm ignoring you if you call me Stephanie and I don't respond, I'm not so used to go by Stephanie anymore."

Taeyeon chuckled and nodded once again. I stirred a little when I felt the tip of her nose brush on my cheek, and her warm breath against it. I felt my body go stiff. I definitely wasn't used to this kind of interaction with her yet. Not that I thought she was, but I for sure could tell that I was a whole lot more nervous than her.

She placed this chaste and lingering kiss on my cheek and I closed my eyes as I felt it. It was such a warm and good sensation, it felt so... Real. Whatever that meant. I could perfectly get used to this kind of moment with Taeyeon, that I could.

"If you want to get over this awkwardness as soon as possible, you have to collaborate with me, you know," I heard Taeyeon say, almost murmuring, and instantly drifted away from my thoughts. "You're all stiff."

"Sorry," I chuckled. "I will."

* * *

 **Stupid Cupid is finally out of secrecy + _Taeyeon Kim_ and _Tiffany Hwang_ bonding in an endearing selfie!**

 **After months of being kept under lock and key, Director Martin Cox's new project that stars Taeyeon Kim and Tiffany Hwang together has been finally made public. Taeyeon and Tiffany would never reveal too much in the interviews the two have given in the past few months, but we couldn't blame them; as a matter of fact, we understand why they did what they did: can you imagine those two _in love with each other_?**

 **You read it right. This is why Martin Cox, Taeyeon and Tiffany have been so shady lately whenever asked about this new movie of theirs: Taeyeon and Tiffany are romantically involved in it. Yes, a couple. Yes, they kiss. Yes, they are probably going to be one of the hottest and most beautiful couples Hollywood has ever seen. And yes, everything's been done on the sly, right under our noses, and they were all deceitful enough not to let anything leak before the time!**

 **The plot of the movie, however, it's not quite as sweet as it seems to be: Leah (Taeyeon Kim) and Ella (Tiffany Hwang) are childhood best friends who have to part ways while still very young, but then life and circumstances bring them back together as adults. Everything goes just fine for the reunited best friends until the not new, but recently acknowledged feelings start to take over the both of them. When requested for further details, Marin Cox didn't hesitate to tell us, "Leah and Ella are a constant wreck from the moment they realize what they feel towards each other onwards. There's a lot of crying, a lot of confusion, hesitation, even pain. It is very painful to the both of them because they feel like there's nowhere to run. Those scenes are hard to watch and hard to shoot, too; I was, however, lucky enough to have my proposal accepted by these two superb actresses that are Taeyeon and Tiffany. The emotion they bring to their respective characters as a result of their raw talent, that was, and is still being, very important for the story. It is a story that many directors took interest in, but they never tried to make it happen because they knew it was a story that had to be told with excellence, grace, with feelings. But now Taeyeon and Tiffany will do that, they are already doing that, and it's amazing."**

 **"I don't think Stupid Cupid would fit in the 'rom-com' category," Cox added. "Judging by its name, it might look like a very cliche movie, but it truly isn't. I would say it would suit the story better if we referred to is as a romantic or even dramatic one. And the title makes sense, if you think about it. Wouldn't you think the Cupid is an asshole if he made you fall in love with your best of friends?" the man joked. The movie is said to be released in the end of the next summer, and is now reaching its very final stages of filming.**

 **Taeyeon and Tiffany, on the other hand, seem to be having a lot of fun with each other and already look like great friends. Tiffany posted a _picture_ on her Instagram profile with Taeyeon, and it looks like she talked the latter into creating her own account not only on _Instagram_ , but also on _Twitter_!**

 **Click the links above to check the picture and follow Taeyeon, and stay tuned as we update you on what these two are going to be up to from now on.**

 **Holler!News**  
 **05:24am.**

* * *

I woke up the next morning with my phone's alarm going off. 7 o'clock, it marked. I sighed as I heard the raindrops falling outside. I had always been the kind of person that could manage herself to be a morning one, you know. Doing things before breakfast, having enough energy to do any and everything during the morning. I've never really complained about getting up early. Not even on Mondays.

But I just couldn't function in a rainy morning. Let alone be disposed to move an inch away from the bed.

I shook my head and sat up. When I realized on whose bed I was sitting, all the memories from the previous night came in my head like a flash.

Taeyeon.

I tilted my head and looked at her. Considerably away from me, sleeping like a baby. It wasn't awkward. We were keeping each other company, and that was... That was good. Very good. Something I thought the both of us needed.

I still couldn't believe we were... Officially dating, if I may put it in these words. But I knew I could get used to it. I liked her. Yes, I liked her. Would never be able to think of a reason not to. She's great.

I smiled lazily to myself, supposing that last night could be the beginning of something amazing for the both of us. I was happy we both were willing to give it a chance. I was taken aback by how easily and rapidly Taeyeon handled everything, but it was these kind of reckless attitudes of hers that brought a wild side of me out, a side of which existence I wasn't even aware of until then. But I enjoyed it. I was willing to live the moment without thinking about the outcomes for the first time in my life. And it felt amazing.

"Taeyeon?" I called her softly, chuckling when I noticed she wouldn't even flinch.

"Wake up, Taeyeon. Do you want your guest to leave your home to work naked?"


	18. Invitation

**POV — Tiffany**

"Alright you lazy bum you, I'm serious now!" I said as I started to push Taeyeon's back, after 5 long minutes of restlessly calling her in my failed attempts to wake her up through any way that didn't involve some kind of violence. Now I was starting to get impatient.

"Tiffany wha- HEY!" Taeyeon screamed as her hands clutched the sheets, stopping her from falling off the bed as I gently pushed her back with my foot. "Is this even a proper way to wake someone up?" she mumbled.

 _What a drama queen_.

"I'm sorry," I chuckled apologetically, "but I need you up. We can't get to work late and I need you to lend me some clothes, remember?"

"... Is it still raining?" she asked, her eyes half closed.

"Yes."

Taeyeon groaned.

"I don't like to get up in a rainy morning," she shook her head and laid it back on the pillow, adjusting herself on the bed again. "It spoils my mood."

Now that was an awkward situation.

"Taeyeon... I'm in your house and I don't want to be inconvenient, but I do need you to help me. I can't go to work like this and you know what, I hate getting up in a rainy morning too, but what can I do about it?"

"Fine," she sighed and sat on the bed. "I'll get you clothes. But... Naked? Seriously? You are not naked and you wouldn't need to go to work naked either."

"I know, I was just trying to use a little over exaggerated drama so that you would- Wait, what?! You've been listening to me all along and yet you didn't even bat an eye?"

"That's how bad your attempts to wake me up were," Taeyeon smirked.

I just stayed there looking at her in disblief.

"Brat."

Taeyeon chuckled and stretched a little before getting up, sighing defeatedly. And tiredly, I noticed. I knew we were both very tired. We stayed up late last night after such a busy day and a crazy night. I was surprised we could even open our eyes now.

I was ready to get up from the bed myself when I felt a pair of arms that slightly bent my body backwards wrap around my neck from behind, and a pair of lips press against my own right after.

"Good morning to you too," Taeyeon whispered to me.

I smiled shyly.

I hadn't spoken to Sunny since the last afternoon and Taeyeon hadn't said anything about Sooyoung either, bur we both assumed they would be already on the set by the time we'd get there. And as we were getting ready for an interrogatory coming from both of our friends and seeking to do anything to avoid as many questions as we could, me and Taeyeon decided to drive to the studio in our own respective cars. Everything that had happened to us on the previous night was literally so recent and new to us that we weren't ready to open up to anyone about it, not even to Sooyoung or Sunny. I mean, I didn't really know about her, but I certainly wasn't ready to open up about it not even to Sunny. Not at all. I was just hoping Taeyeon was as much of a private person as me when it comes to my personal life. And there was actually a lot of things I still wanted to discuss about with her regarding that, but it was too early, so I didn't mention any of my further thoughts.

In the end, we just agreed that we should use that lame and overused excuse of being tired as fuck due work to deceive them.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the possibly troublesome thoughts, and replaced them with three little things I've noticed so far in my short everyday journey to the studio:

One, Taeyeon's morning voice was really pretty and soothing;

Two, her kiss was indeed the best one I had ever had. The hottest, too, if I may say. But she wasn't going to know about that;

I smiled to myself and rolled my eyes, cringing on my own stupid cheesiness as the third thing came to my mind.

I missed her already.

* * *

 **POV — Taeyeon**

There were so many things going on in my mind.

I blinked my eyes and suddenly I was already working again, and now with Tiffany.

I blinked my eyes again and the news of the movie had spread everywhere and suddenly people were going crazy over me and Tiffany together despite the fact that they barely had any information on what the movie was about.

I blinked my eyes a third time and Tiffany and I had kissed for the first time.

And then I blinked one last time and she and I were together. For real.

It was crazy, but it was crazy good. And for the first time, I felt a completeness that I hadn't felt in any other moment of my 25 years of existence.

I would always think it was the most cliché thing when people said, "I feel complete now," regarding to adding their romantic life to their professional one. I had my good fifteen years of career and I had always seen people say that and boast around about how both worlds could and would collide to find a perfect balance and give them the greatest feeling of being filled in an unexplainable way, as if romance was the unnoticed missing piece of their puzzle of sheer happiness.

Maybe I was starting to change my mind about that.

The thought that I was with Tiffany gave me a warm and joyful feeling. I felt as if I had everything I could ever wish for. Or maybe, as if I had something I didn't know I wished for.

I was never interested in dating. I liked to say I was in a serious relationship with my work. Which was true, it still is true. I had always felt fulfilled with my career and with my opportunities, I never needed anyone, I was always perfectly happy with me, myself, my work and I. It had always been like that and I never thought it was going to change.

But Tiffany came along and somehow made her way into my life.

Curious enough, I had never been the type of person who would let someone in as easily as I let her.

But now, dating and repeatedly kissing my Hollywood co-star whom I had met two months ago didn't seem like a bad idea whatsoever.

I tried to shake the thoughts off of my mind as I parked my car in front of the studio. I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbed my bag and got off the car, heading to the set's entrance and still fighting hard to concentrate in what I had to start doing now instead of concentrating in my musings.

"Earth to Taeyeon, please answer," I heard Tiffany's voice right beside my ear and flinched out of shock, putting my hand over my chest right after and inhaling deeply.

"Tiffany," I exhaled, "where did you come from?"

I watched as she cocked her eyebrows in a playful way.

"I've been walking side by side with you basically since you left your car. We arrived together, you know."

"Ah... Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you, really. I think I'm gravitating towards spacing out today, I really didn't see you there, forgive me" I apologized.

"Don't worry, that's okay," Tiffany said, before covering her mouth with one of her fists to hide away a big yawn.

I chuckled. "Tired?"

"Energyless. I'm always a little sleepy when I wake up, but I usually gather my energy after breakfast."

"And I didn't give you anything to eat this morning... Oh God, I'm the worst person ever today!" I facepalmed myself and shook my head slowly, sighing. "I'm sorry, Tiffany. Really. I feel bad now, I'm such a terrible host. I don't usually have breakfast unless Sooyoung wants to eat something, so I never have anything at home, I should've at least offered myself to buy you anything on my way here but this is something that's not a part of my daily routine so I just-"

"Hey, that's okay," Tiffany chuckled and put her arm over my shoulders, pulling me with her as we continued to make our way towards the set's door. "Really, I can do a morning or a day without breakfast. Don't feel bad, I understand."

I giggled a little and nodded, crossing my arms. I turned my face to hers and looked at her, my eyes slightly falling on her lips. "Will lunch make up for it?"

"I don't think we'll have time to have a proper lunch today. I think it's going to be another day of ordering Chinese food."

"Stop spoiling my attempt to feed you and I'm tired of eating Chinese food," I frowned. "Don't even make me think about it."

"Yeah? Well, then tell that to your director," she said and pointed to Martin, who was talking to a few staff members, as we entered the set together, "he's the one responsible for choosing the menu when we can't eat out. And I think we can perfectly assume he is a big fan of _chow mein_ and doesn't really care if you are one too or not."

I laughed out loud and was ready to talk back to Tiffany when I heard Sooyoung yelling my name. I widened my eyes and Tiffany looked over to where Sooyoung was. She tapped my shoulder a few times before removing her resting arm from it.

"Go. We talk later," she said as she started to walk away. "I have to find Sunny, she's somewhere in this studio crazy furious because I don't answer her calls or texts."

"Can I at least treat you dinner? Huh? I'm feeling like an horrible person for making someone starve and you are not being of any help."

"Can we discuss this later? I'm not going to die."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, we can. But wait!"

Tiffany stopped and gave me a questioning look. I looked around and found everyone busy on their own. I looked over to Sooyoung's previous spot and noticed she wasn't there anymore. I carefully approached Tiffany, still looking around, and then held her face and quickly pressed my lips against hers. I slightly pointed my finger at her face and chuckled before walking away.

"No one saw it," I whispered.

I could hear her laughing almost quietly behind me.

"Aw, broomstick. I knew I'd find you here," I said and smiled brightly as I entered the dressing room only to find a pissed off Sooyoung sitting on the sofa, with her arms and legs grossed and a not much amused look on her face.

She didn't answer me.

I quickly approached her spot and sat beside her.

"Who's the pretty grumpy popsicle stick?" I pinched her cheeks as I laughed at her.

"Okay, stop it, weirdo," she said as she pushed my hands. "What's happening to you? You vanished yesterday night, didn't reply my messages this morning and now... You're happy? Taeyeon, are you high?"

"I was tired yesterday. I didn't even take a shower, I showered this morning. The day here knocked me out, I just came home and fell asleep in the moment that my body hit the bed."

"It still doesn't explain your happiness."

"Can't an actress be happy, Sooyoung?"

"Not you! It's just that you're not happy during the morning! Ever! You always look like a grumpy zombie and you act like Grumpy from Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs!" Sooyoung complained. Oh, was that getting amusing.

"Well, I'm happy and excited today, but maybe tomorrow I'll be back to my grumpy persona. Who knows," I chuckled and got up to get ready.

* * *

 **POV — Tiffany**

"Now, missy, where have you been?! It's my job to take care of you and assure you're okay!" Sunny said as she held my waist and sat me down. I just chuckled.

"I'm fine, Sunny. Really. Everything is okay. It's just that I was exhausted yesterday, so I got home, threw myself on the sofa and just fell asleep right there. I didn't want to worry you," I smiled.

"Then why didn't you answer my calls or reply to my texts this morning?"

"Phone died."

"Have you ever heard of charging?"

"Prince got tired of his toys and wrecked my cable when I wasn't looking."

Sunny narrowed her eyes.

"Tiffany, this smells fishy."

"Well, it's the truth though," I shrugged and made a mental note to destroy my charging cable as soon as I get home.

"I'm sorry, Martin, I don't feel very well, can we please take a quick break?" I looked at the director and innerly thanked him when he nodded his head worriedly. I smiled weakly and made my way to the dressing room, it had the most comfortable sofa and I needed to lie down for a minute, I was feeling dizzy as hell.

I threw myself on the sofa as soon as I reached it and closed my eyes, placing one of my hands on top of my forehead. I inhaled deeply, trying to gather some energy from I have no idea where. I felt my body really numb. Well, what could I have expected? We were in the middle of the afternoon and I hadn't eaten anything so far.

 _I am never not having breakfast again_ , I thought.

"Tiffany!" I heard Taeyeon calling me from the door.

I opened my eyes and smiled a little at her.

"Come in."

"Tiffany, are you okay? Everyone's worried about you. You almost gave me a heart attack," Taeyeon said as she entered the room and closed the door, making her way towards me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just feel a little weak and dizzy. I blame it on the little sleep time I had last night."

"And I," Taeyeon emphasized the pronoun, "blame it on the lack of eating."

I sighed and gave in. "Or that."

"I knew you needed to eat! Wait a minute, I'll probe Sooyoung's bag to see if she has any cereal bar or something."

Before I could protest and tell Taeyeon not to worry so much, she had already left my side. A minute later, she came back with this chocolate coated cereal bar and handed it to me.

"Here. Eat."

I chuckled and sat up slowly. "Won't she get mad at me for eating her food, boss?"

"No she won't. Please eat it."

I took the snack and watched as Taeyeon sat beside me. I smiled warmly at her and opened the bar's package, looking at it before eyeing Taeyeon again.

"You're staring."

"I know," I nodded.

"Why are you staring?"

I brought my face closer to hers and cupped her cheek with my free hand, gently placing a longing kiss on her lips. She kissed me back and pressed her lips a couple of times against my own before I chuckled and pulled back.

"Thank you," I said before taking a bite from the sweet I had in my hands.

* * *

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I arrived home and threw myself on my beloved sofa, slightly stressed because of the encounter I had right in front of my house with the people I despise the most.

Paparazzi.

I didn't know what the fuck they were doing in front of my house. They knew where it was, but I had never seen them around before. I couldn't understand the reason why they showed up. But I shook it off, thank goodness there weren't more than 4 dudes out there.

I felt and heard my phone ringing inside my pocket and took it off. I smiled when I read the identification on the screen.

"HI MOM!" I exclaimed eagerly.

" _Taengoo, honey! It's been so long! How are you?_ " I heard my mom say. I missed hearing her voice.

"I'm great, mom. I miss you. And I see someone has improved her English," I smiled. Mom was speaking perfect English despite her strong korean accent. How are you? How is everyone there?"

" _Yes! I do everything for my daughter. Everyone is fine. Your appa is good, he is still the same choding man. Your sister is placing Tippany posters all over her room!_ " she laughed.

"Wait, Tiffany posters? As in Tiffany Hwang posters?"

" _Yes, that Tippany. Taengoo, you have to talk to Hayeon, she is going crazy about your new movie. She says she wants you to bring Tiffany as her Christmas present. And, ah, she has improved the most among us. Her English is perfect and her grades are high at school, you will be so proud! And you are spending Christmas with us here in Korea, aren't you?_ "

"Wait, mom, wait," I laughed, "Slow down. Yes, I'm spending Christmas with you, at least that's what I hope so, I think the filming will be over just in time for me to fly to Korea. But Hayeon is a fan of Tiffany's? How did that happen? Has she become a fan of hers after she knew Tiffany was working with me? You know, she's done that in the past."

" _No no baby, it was a coincidence! Hayeon's been a fan of Tippany's for years now, only you didn't know. When she knew you two were working together, she ran around the house screaming saying, 'Taeyeon unnie hit the jackpot! Taeyeon unnie hit the jackpot!' ... What does that mean, Taengoo?_ " my mom asked, defeatedly.

I could picture and almost hear mom facepalming herself. And I couldn't help but to laugh out loud and let my laugh echo throughout the living room.

"She basically means I'm very lucky, mom."

" _Speaking of the devil, Taengoo, Hayeon wants to talk to you. I'll get the phone back in a minute, okay?_ "

" _UNNIE, IS TIFFANY WITH YOU?_ " I heard Hayeon's voice screaming out of the phone's speaker. Damn, was that girl fast.

"Hi there, little teenage devil. I missed you too. No, I'm not tired at all, you may speak as much as you want to," I sarcastically teased her.

" _Okay, I'm sorry. Hi, unnie. I did miss you. Are you okay? You haven't caught a cold, have you? ... Is Tiffany with you?_ "

I chuckled at her ecstasy. "No, Hayeon, Tiffany is not with me."

" _But did you see her today?_ "

"I see her every day, kid."

I pushed my phone away from my face when I heard Hayeon scream.

" _OH MY GOD, UNNIE! HOW IS SHE LIKE IN PERSON? Is she as pretty as she seems to be? Is she nice? Is she kind? Is she soft?_ "

What the fuck, Hayeon?

"Hayeon! Soft? What the heck?"

" _Well, aren't you two playing a couple in this movie?_ "

"Yes, but-"

" _Then you must know if she is soft or not_ ," my sister said, matter-of-factly. I was in shock.

"HAYEON! You are fourteen! That's not the kind of conversation we should be having, you are so damn inappropriate!" I felt my face becoming hot. "But yes, Tiffany is as pretty as she seems to be. She's truly even more beautiful up close."

... Now why did I say that?

" _Okay now, that's enough, child!_ " I heard my mom say over the phone and assumed she had taken it from Hayeon. " _I'm sorry for your sister, Taengoo, you know how she is. But she means well._ "

"I'm sure she does, mom," I chuckled.

" _Anyway, dear, I'll let you rest now. It's late over there, isn't it? You probably had a tiring day today. See you on Christmas?_ "

"Thank you, mom, I indeed did. And yes, see you on Christmas, at least that's what I plan," I smiled. "Love you, send appa tons of kisses and tell him I miss him."

 _"I will. Good night, Taengoo! Saranghae._ "

My mom cut the call and I smiled calmly. It was always good to talk to her.

I was excited for Christmas and looking forward to seeing my family. I couldn't go to Korea last year because I was very busy and had to abruptly cancel my plane tickets, which made me and my family very disappointed. But everything indicated that I could make it this year.

I was smiling as I imagined how the Christmas eve would be like this year, when I suddenly started to recall an event from this afternoon.

 _"So, are you excited for Christmas? It's coming, it's always such a pretty time," I asked Tiffany as we made our way out of the set._

 _She smiled weakly._

 _"I'm not really into Christmas, Taeyeon."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"It's not really enjoyable when you spend it alone. Christmas is about sharing a good time with people you love."_

 _Oh._

 _Her family._

 _Good job, Taeyeon._

 _"I don't want you to spend this Christmas alone, spend it with me," I said as I came closer to her and smiled warmly._

 _She cocked one of her eyebrows and looked at me. "Don't you have plans?"_

 _"No. Let's spend it together, it will be fun."_

 _It took Tiffany a couple of seconds before she smiled widely at me and nodded happily._

 _"Let's do it."_

Oh, boy. I had completely forgotten about my annual family plans when I suggested Tiffany that we did that, and I completely forgot about Tiffany when I talked to my mom.

I didn't want to spend another Christmas away from my family, but I couldn't let Tiffany spend another Christmas alone.

I grabbed my phone once again and quickly dialed the number of the person that would save me from that situation.

" _Hello?_ "

"Mom?"

" _Taengoo_ _, dear, what's wrong?_ "

I bit lightly on my lower lip and smiled to myself.

"Can I bring someone to Korea with me?"


	19. Bet On It

**POV — Tiffany**

A month had gone by in a blink of an eye. It was December 21st, and the very last day of filming.

Taeyeon and I had just finished our last scene, and when we did, all the staff that was then heeding our every little move clapped in ecstasy. We were proud of our job and happy to know it was delightful for those who watched us. Martin was the happiest one, and even from afar, I could spot these few tears running down his cheeks, his eyes looking at me and Taeyeon with pure joy, as if he were a father seeing his two daughters graduate in college.

Or, judging by how emotional he was, get married.

And speaking of me and Taeyeon, it was crazy how even closer we had gotten. We grew way more comfortable around each other, our friendship had strengthened. We liked to see each other as two best friends who happened to have romantic feels for each other. At least I know I had.

We didn't have much time to be together as much as we wish we could, in the past month. We grew busier and busier with the final stage of the filming, we were often exhausted and couldn't hang out nor visit each other. And to make matters worse, her house had been often surrounded by paparazzi. There were rumors about me visiting her, and then other rumors now based on previous rumors surfaced, and people only got more interested when pictures of me and Taeyeon walking into the set together were spread all over the internet. We didn't want anything to go public, so we seized ourselves, but it was only 'easy' because our schedule required that we did so. But in the end, we would get by with a stolen kiss here and there around the studio when no one was looking. Or when Martin gave us a break, we would just sit around somewhere looking at each other, as if we were trying to find something on each other that we, or at least I, had yet to find out what was. There was no awkwardness between us anymore, not when we talked nor when we touched or wanted to touch. And if I were tired, she would let me rest my head on her shoulder and then would warmly kiss my forehead whenever she had the opportunity to. I always took that small gesture as a way of hers to tell me, "I'm here." And that was honestly everything I needed.

What Taeyeon was giving me was something I never thought I would have.

I was already used to loneliness. I hadn't spoken to my family in years, but they didn't put any effort into trying to contact me either. The only person I had with me was Sunny and although we were great, amazing friends, our relationship still was mainly professional and she had her own family to take care of. And besides her, I didn't really have any friends. But then Taeyeon came along, made her way into my life, let me make my way into hers and suddenly became the cornerstone of the best feeling of safety I had ever had in my entire life. She became my family. She took care of me, she tried to cheer me up when she thought I was feeling down, she gave me hugs when I needed them, she never made me feel distressed, she never hurt me and I don't think she ever will.

I loved her. I knew I did. But I couldn't let her know, not yet. It was still soon, and I didn't want to scare her away.

Suddenly, Martin's voice echoed throughout the set and jolted me out of my musings. He thanked everyone and said they did a good job. I smiled. He was a kind man.

As I noticed Taeyeon was no longer anywhere near me, so I decided to greet the staff members one by one to thank them for their hard work and wish them happy holidays. I shook their hands and they all thanked me for my words and congratulated me on my work. It was a warm exchange of gratitude and sincere good feelings, and for a minute I thought I would never have the chance to work with such good people again. I was going to miss being in that studio, everyone was nice, fun and we all made one another feel at home.

Soon after, most of people had already left the studio. Only a few staff men were still there, finishing to pack their things. The set was going to start being dismantled on the next day, we were all dismissed. It was officially over, and the thought let me a tad down. I didn't really want it to be over, but I knew we would end up meeting again, someday. The movie was booked to be released next year, anyway, so we would all gather together on its premiere. I was already looking forward to seeing everyone again.

"Tiffany, dear, there you are!" Martin approached me with an excited look on his face. I smiled at him. "Shall we reveal our secret santa now? Have you seen Taeyeon, Sooyoung and Sunny?"

Oh, the secret santa! Martin, Taeyeon, Sooyoung, Sunny and I had agreed on making a little secret santa to celebrate our hard work and also the upcoming holidays. Elise and Thomas, the photographers, were participating too. They deserved it, they had been with us all along and boy, did they take pretty pictures. Me and Taeyeon had seen every and each movie still that was soon to be released, and they were impeccable to say the least.

"No, but I can look for them. I bet they're just lazing around in some room. Sooyoung's probably rambling about how hungry she is because she hasn't eaten in 5 minutes," I chuckled.

The man laughed with me. "Do that, please. I'll gather some chairs, we can exchange our gifts right here on the set, there's no problem. So, is your secret santa a good one?"

I smiled at him and nodded.

"Mine is the best one."

...

I opened the door to the dressing room to find the three people I was looking for.

All of them doing something on their respective smartphones.

"Now that's such a pathetic scene to behold," I said as I entered the room and closed the door. "Don't women communicate anymore?"

"Just a second, Tiff, I'm just finishing this Candy Crush level, can't talk right now," Sunny mumbled.

"We don't communicate anymore because my manager and yours are two nerds that prefer technology over people," I heard Taeyeon say and looked at her. I smiled and watched as she sat on the sofa, putting her phone down.

"I don't prefer technology over people, I am just reading a recipe blog. I don't know if you chicks know, but I prepare the Christmas supper every year," Sooyoung defended herself.

I walked over to Taeyeon and sat beside her.

"Yeah, and this year she needs to really push herself. She's spending Christmas with her new boyfriend," Taeyeon told me then looked at Sooyoung, lifting her eyebrows and smiling teasingly.

Sooyoung just blinked her eyes a few times and smiled, covering her face with her phone. I chuckled.

"I didn't know you were dating, Soo," I said.

"Poor man must spend all his savings on her when they go out on a dinner date," Sunny said and burst into laughter, putting her phone down for the first time since I entered the room and making us laugh with her.

"I pay for my food, okay, dwarf?" Sooyoung rolled her eyes at Sunny's comment. "And actually, Tiff, we're not exactly dating... Yet. I mean, he's a nice and kind, gentle guy, but we have been going out together for just three weeks. But, you know, he has no family... His parents and grandparents are dead and he has no siblings. Considering that and since my family is very laid-back, I invited him to spend Christmas with us. And as I said, I cook the Christmas supper every year, so... Yeah, I want to impress him, I do. But I don't know very well what he likes or not, so I'm looking for the most generic Christmas recipes, I'm only used to cooking the same every year."

"Good luck with that. I bet it's going to be great," I smiled at her and nodded. "But hey, I came here to tell you, Martin wants to begin the secret santa gifts exchange. Shall we go?"

"Yeah!" Sunny said excitedly. "I really want to know who got me."

"Taeyeon," Sooyoung began, "if you got me, you'd better give me a very good gift, like one hundred golden bars perhaps, to make up to me for all the times I have saved your ass."

"I pay you to save my ass," Taeyeon retorted sharply.

"Then start paying me with golden bars," Sooyoung finished, making the rest of us laugh.

We each picked up our respective secret santa presents that were kept together in a small Christmas bag in a corner of the room. They weren't big, they didn't need to be. Everyone agreed on choosing something small but meaningful, so we could all take something from the other with us for a long time, alongside with fond memories.

Sooyoung and Sunny had already left and I was ready to go through the door when Taeyeon called me, making me turn to her.

"Fany? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I nodded and closed the door behind me before looking back at Taeyeon.

"Is there anything wrong?"

I watched as Taeyeon smiled brightly and put down her gift. She rushed to me and hugged my waist tightly before making me laugh out loud thanks to the ticklish kisses she was peppering my whole face with.

"Taeyeon, what is this?" I said between chuckles.

She finished her kiss attack with a gentle one on my lips.

"First of all, congratulations on being such an amazing actress. I'm your fan. You were brilliant all these months," she said, smiling at me while brushing her nose on my own. It only made my smile grow wider.

"Thank you. I learned with the best," I winked at her.

"Second... I want to ask you something. Actually, I want to tell you something," she said as she withdrew her face from mine, making me already miss it. "Do you remember how I suggested we spent Christmas together?"

I nodded.

"Are you willing to do anything I want to?" she continued.

"Well, you know I have no plans at all. I'm depending on you. Why?"

"Nice," she smiled again and let go of me, opening the door for us to leave the room. "I'm dropping by your place tonight to help you pack your bags."

... Pack my bags?

"Wait, what?!" I followed Taeyeon as she left the room with her present in hands, "Pack my bags? What for?"

"We're flying to South Korea tomorrow at 8pm. I've already booked your ticket."

"South Korea? Tomorrow? Just like that? What are we doing there?" I asked, still feeling completely lost.

Taeyeon stopped for a moment and looked at me again, smiling proudly. "You're spending your Christmas with the Kims, Tiffany. We're going to see my family."

My jaw dropped.

"Your... Family? Me? With you? Taeyeon, I don't think-"

"Yes, it is a good idea," she said as she took my arm and led me to where everyone was. "I now you're probably thinking it's to soon to meet my family, but..." she made a pause and looked at me for some seconds before shaking her head slightly and continuing, "Here's the thing. I spend Christmas with my family every year. They used to come to the US to see me, but that has been a little difficult for them to do lately, so I've been traveling to Korea during Christmas time for five years now. When I invited you to spend Christmas with me this year, I forgot I promised them I'd go see them. I didn't want to spend another Holiday away from my family, I wasn't able to visit them last year, but I just couldn't let you spend Christmas alone. And don't worry, I've talked to my mother and she said everything is just fine, my father doesn't mind it either. You'll see, Tiffany, they are such good, open-minded, warm people."

I found myself in a loss of words. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to react, I just knew I was touched. My heart felt happy. As cheesy as it can sound, it did. Taeyeon was opening a space in her family for me. She was going to take me to spend Christmas with her and her whole family like that, without asking me anything in return. She could have just told me we couldn't spend Christmas together because she would be with her parents, but no, she didn't. She is taking me with her because she doesn't want me to be alone. That would be the very first Christmas I would spend with anyone but myself in years, and all thanks to the amazing woman that was right in front of me.

"Are you for real?" I asked, almost as a whisper.

She nodded and smiled once again. "South Korea is a beautiful place during the winter. You'll love it."

I smiled heartly at her and and held one of her hands, wringing it and mouthing a quiet 'thank you' as we approached Mr. Cox and the others.

"So, is everyone ready?" the man asked. "Come on everyone, sit. Let's do something different. Instead of just going, 'Hey, you're my secret santa!' at each other, why don't we get up one by one and describe who our secret santa is? I may take the lead, if you allow me to," he smiled.

We all agreed on his idea and thought it was great. Everyone would hear nice words and remember each other with affection, I believed. I sat down in one of the chairs that were arranged in a small circle and Taeyeon sat beside me and Sooyoung, Sunny and the rest were all already settled.

Martin took the lead, as he had said, and made his way out of the circle so everyone could take a look at him and he could look back at us. He then started to describe his secret santa, who happened to be our photographer, Thomas. Martin gave him two boxes filled with beautiful camera ornaments for him and Elise to put on their Christmas tree. The man was so happy. Martin gift was the most thoughtful and sweetest.

When it was Thomas's turn to reveal his secret santa, we all shared a laugh. The person he was giving a gift to was no one other than his wife, and it was indescribably fun to listen and watch as he described Elise as the "most beautiful and lovely almost middle-aged furious beast he had ever laid his eyes on." The woman frowned, but she gave in when Thomas pulled her in for a kiss. They were a beautiful couple, and I found it amusing to see how the both of them worked together as the impeccable team they were while doing what they love.

And then Elise's secret santa was Martin, who received a miniature statue of himself that Elise had her plastic artist friend do.

"Oh boy, had I known the line would stop on me, I wouldn't have started it," Martin chuckled, when he realized me, Taeyeon, Sunny and Sooyoung were still left out. "Someone has to stand up now. Tiffany!" he called me, "Don't you want to start over?"

I nodded and got up, holding the present I had prepared. It was neatly wrapped in the prettiest blue wrapping paper I could find, with a white bow meticulously glued on top of it. I stepped out of our circle and smiled shyly.

"So... My secret santa. Uh, it's obviously a woman, and... Well, she's been this wonderful person to me all along... And... Gosh, this is embarrassing," I chuckled and facepalmed myself, "it's weird to talk about her right in front of her because every time I do so I feel and sound as such a fangirl..."

Everyone chuckled at my statement.

"So, yeah, that's it. She is amazing and I only wish her good things, only the best. So... Taeyeon?" I looked at her and smiled, trying to hide away my shyness.

"Ah, seriously?" Taeyeon smiled excitedly, getting up from her chair and almost running towards me. I received her with open arms and she hugged me tightly. I gladly returned the hug.

"I hope you like it," I told her as I handed her the present I had bought her. "A tall, tanned bird told me it's the kind of thing you like to get," I said as I eyed Sooyoung, who was now chuckling and giving me a thumb up.

Taeyeon looked at me for a few seconds and smiled again as she opened the package I myself prepared. Her eyes and smile grew wider as she finished unwrapping the gift.

"A poetry book! Yes, I love it! Thank you!" she hugged me again. I hugged her back and squeezed her a little before letting her go at the same time as I failed to contain my smile.

I chuckled and slid one of my hands through Taeyeon's arm as I started to make my way back to my chair. "No need to thank me. Your turn now."

Taeyeon nodded and carefully placed the book I have her on her chair, picking up her own present that, surprisingly, seemed a lot like the one she received.

"My secret santa is... The easiest person on Earth to buy a present for. And thank goodness she is, because I'm terrible at picking presents for people," she said, making everyone laugh. "She is about this tall," she placed her hand on her own waist, "I met her a few months ago and although she seems cool and clammed up at first, I swear she's a nice and fun person deep inside, and it's very relaxing to be around her," she finished, smiling. And by the way, dear God, was Taeyeon's smile charming. "And I've been thinking about stealing her from Tiffany and giving Sooyoung in return in order to exchange managers permanently. So, merry early Christmas, Sunny!" Taeyeon said warmly, pointing her present at Sunny.

Sunny got up almost as excitedly as Taeyeon did when I revealed she was my secret santa. She hugged Taeyeon for a short moment and took ahold of her present, unwrapping it carefully.

"THE NEWEST ZOMBIE VIDEO GAME! I've so been wanting this since it came out!" Sunny squealed and, once again, everyone laughed. "Oh my God, Taeyeon, thank you! Really!"

"You're welcome," Taeyeon chuckled. "Enjoy it," she tapped Sunny on the back and sat beside me again, picking up the present I gave her. She smiled at me. I just discreetly winked back at her and smirked.

"All right, my turn," Sunny began. "My secret santa, she-"

"THAT'S SUCH A HUGE PRESENT. What's in there?" Sooyoung interrupted Sunny.

"Damn it, Soo, be quiet!" Sunny said, frowning, making us all laugh at her. "As I was saying," she cleaned her throat, "my secret santa, she is one of the most fun people I've ever seen. She can be a little inconvenient sometimes," she eyed Sooyoung, who was now almost jumping up and down in excitement, "but she is fun. And she has this weird obsession with food, especially sweet food, so I bought her this. Merry Christmas, Godzilla!" Sunny exclaimed, pointing one of her hands at Sooyoung.

"YES! It is mine! It is mine! Gimme!" Sooyoung ran to Sunny excitedly and hugged her briefly, ready to tackle her gift down. She unwrapped it and under the pretty wrapping paper, there was a big box with a picture of an ice cream cone lamp.

"Oh my God! So cool! Is this really a lamp?" Sooyoung asked.

"Yeah, it is. It looks really nice on a bedroom. I have one myself, mine is white, but I thought the pink one would suit your personality better," Sunny chuckled.

"It's amazing! Thank you, Sunny!" Sooyoung smiled gratefully and hugged her once again. "Can't even wait to turn it on," she said, picking up the box and heading back to her chair while still looking at Sunny, "I'll send you a picture of it when I do so. I really like it! Thanks, dwarf! You rock!"

Once again, everyone laughed. I took a look at Martin, Elise and Thomas, and they all seemed to be amused at how the four of us would get along well and have fun together. I was happy to have welcomed Taeyeon in my life, but I also felt blessed for the friendship that had been growing between Taeyeon, Sunny, Sooyoung and I throughout all these past months.

"Okay, I guess I don't even need to describe who my secret santa is, because it's clear that there's only one lady missing," Sooyoung started, obviously talking about me. I chuckled. "But, um... I do think she deserves to hear a few things. Well, Tiffany... You know I'm talking about you. I just wanted to let you know that you are amazing, you are such a professional and I like you a lot. I hope we can continue to be good friends... You already are a great friend. Thank you for the happiness you bring everyone, really," she smiled. "And please take me because I can't stand Taeyeon anymore."

"Quiet!" Taeyeon exclaimed.

I smiled at Sooyoung and got up to receive my present and hug her. I hugged her tightly while thanking her, saying I wanted us too continue friends for a long time, too. I held the package she handed me and opened it, and a black, silky picture frame revealed itself. I looked at Sooyoung.

"I didn't know what to get you, but I've noticed how you value friendship and bonding, so I thought this picture the four of us took a few weeks ago would make a great present if printed. I wrote a message on its back, you can take the picture out and read it when you get home," Sooyoung smiled. "Did you like it?"

The picture was taken on a weekend I had spent with her, Sunny and Taeyeon back in the end of November. We all went together to an amusement park and it was such a blissful and fun day for all of us. In the end of it, we took the photo that was now in the picture frame I was holding. We all looked so happy in it. Sunny was smiling widely, laying her head on my shoulder. I was smiling happily while holding the camera, Taeyeon was laughing at all the silly things we were saying and Sooyoung was making faces at the camera. That day, we felt joyful and comfortable as if we had known each other since forever. It was like it was completely normal and usual for us to fool around with each other without giving a damn about what anyone would think. It was a beautiful picture, and an even more beautiful present.

"I love it! I truly do. Thank you, Sooyoung, it is gorgeous!" I hugged her once again. "I'll put it on my nightstand, I promise."

Sooyoung smiled again and nodded.

Elise and Thomas got up and thanked us all for the great time, they said they had too much fun, but that they had to go. I and Taeyeon thanked them for their hard work with us throughout the film and wished them all the best. Martin did the same, he told them he was proud of everything they had achieved so far. After the photographer couple was gone, Sunny and Sooyoung excused themselves and said they were going to pick up our belongings to leave.

As for Martin, he took me and Taeyeon by the hands and led us to a small room, it was his own room. We had never been there before.

"Ok, children, now please close your eyes," the man said as we approached the door. Taeyeon and I looked at each other before doing as we were told. We heard him opening the door and let ourselves be pulled in.

"All right... Just a... Yeah, everything's fine. Open your eyes," he said.

I followed his instructions and caught myself in awe when I looked at a customized, hot pink director's chair, that had my name on it. I smiled brightly at him before noticing there was another chair beside mine, but this one was black and had Taeyeon's name written.

"Oh my God, Martin, this is awesome! It is really for us?" I chuckled.

"Yes, it is. A little Christmas present for each of you and a way to say thank you for everything you have done. If this movie succeeds, it's going to be because of you two. You know, a director is nothing without actors to instruct, and there's nothing more delightful than to work with talented ones who make magic out of a simple script. You two are jewels, girls," he smiled at me and Taeyeon. "And I'm so sure you have so much ahead."

Taeyeon smiled at him. "Whoa, it's... It's the first time I get that kind of treatment from a director. You are the best, Martin, come here," she said as she hugged him. "Thank you very, very much. I really appreciate it, it was great to work with you."

"I feel the same," I said. "Thanks for everything. You were the best director ever, Martin, congratulations on that," I smiled heartly and mimicked Taeyeon's actions, hugging the man.

"There's no need to thank me, I wish you two all the best," he smiled again and held our hands. "Oh, goodness, I hope you two are so very happy together."

My jaw dropped for the first time that day and Taeyeon's eyes grew wide.

"How... Um... I mean," Taeyeon began.

"Oh, come on, girls! Do you really think I've never seen love happen on set before?" the man chuckled. "Besides, I'm a director. I'm an artist. If there's something I know very well, it is body language. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he winked.

Taeyeon and I chuckled in embarrassment and tried to somehow ride the redness on our cheeks.

That man was truly one in a million.

...

As Taeyeon and I were making our way out of the studio while carrying our chairs after saying goodbye to Martin, I noticed Sooyoung and Sunny talking happily and waiting for us outside. I stopped walking and turned to Taeyeon.

"Tae," I called her softly.

"Yeah?"

"Should we tell them?"

Taeyeon stopped by me side and furrowed her eyebrows a little. She looked outside the huge door before looking back at me.

"Who? Sooyoung and Sunny?"

I nodded.

"Oh. Well... If that's what you want, I'm okay with it."

"It's not that it's what I want, it's just... You know, Sunny's going to ask me about my plans for Christmas, she does that every year. And if I tell her I'm going to travel with you or even that I'm just going to travel alone, she'll find it suspicious. And I didn't want to lie to her... But if you think it's too soon, then it's okay, I don't mind, I just-"

"No, I don't think so. Let's tell them," Taeyeon smiled. "They do deserve to know. Come," she reached out one of her hands. I just took it gladly and smiled back at her.

Taeyeon and I walked hand in hand out of the studio, each of us carrying our respective chair under one arm. I had come to the set with her in the morning, so I wasn't with my car, and Sunny came by herself. We put the chairs away in Taeyeon's car's backseat and made our way to where Sunny and Sooyoung were.

"Hey," Taeyeon called them, "we need to talk."

Sunny and Sooyoung instantly turned to us.

"We," Taeyeon pointed at herself, then at me then back at her, "are dating," she stated readily.

I looked at Taeyeon with wide eyes.

That woman's boldness never failed to amuse me.

I looked back at Sooyoung and Sunny and I didn't quite know what to think of their reactions. Sooyoung was staring at us, her jaw dropped, and Sunny blank a few times with a look on her face of someone who was trying to process the information.

"HA! I told you! What did I tell you? Didn't I tell you they were going to date? 'Cause I told you they were!" Sunny turned to Sooyoung and said eagerly, startling me and Taeyeon who were now looking at each other with the most confused expression on our faces.

"Now wait a minute, I told YOU too!" Sooyoung protested.

"Oh, hell no, you didn't. You said you thought it was nothing but the characters going to their heads! I told you they were ending up together for real, that I did. Come on, Sooyoung, my fifty bucks, now," Sunny said as she reached out her hand for Soyoung to put the money in it.

"Jesus Christ, am I going completely nuts or you two were god damn making your inner bets on our love life?" Taeyeon spoke up, raising her voice a bit.

"Uh... No. We were just... Observing you," Sooyoung retorted

I just facepalmed myself and shook my head slowly.

"Sunny, Sooyoung is such a horrible influence to you. You used to be such a good girl..." I mumbled.

"It was just an innocent bet, Tiff!" Sunny defended herself. "We had to find something to do while you two went all lovey-doveish with each other without even noticing. Besides," she smiled, "we're happy for you."

"Are you? Aren't you going to lecture me on how I shouldn't get involved with work colleagues? I know you've always frowned upon that," I looked at her.

"Nope. I'm all for it. I thought get involved with your workmates was a bad idea until I met Taeyeon and saw the chemistry you two had on and off screen."

"And how long has it been?" Sooyoung asked.

"A month," Taeyeon replied, still shooting the taller woman with her eyes.

"A month?" Sunny butted in, making a small pause before looking back at me with wide eyes. "Is that why you disappeared that day back in November? You were at Taeyeon's, you two got together and you slept over there?"

I was completely taken aback. "What are you, Sun? Sherlock Holmes?"

She shrugged, "My uncle is a particular detective."

"Well, anyway," Sooyoung approached me and Taeyeon, giving us a giant hug at the same time, "congrats. And I don't know which of you I'll kill first if you ever hurt each other, so watch out," she said as she let us go and chuckled, making us laugh with her.

I never knew it would be that easy for them to receive the news.

...

"All done?" a smiley Taeyeon asked me as she entered the room.

"Almost. I just finished the second travel bag," I said, sitting down on the bed.

"Two bags? We're barely spending a week there."

"I know, but you kept telling me how cold Korea was during the winter, so I've supplied myself with plenty of warm clothes. But they are thick, you know. I picked 4 coats and a few sweaters, not to mention other stuff such as pants, tops, shoes, underwear... Of course my luggage would be fuller."

Taeyeon chuckled softly before making her way towards me and sitting by my side. "I guess I'm not used to carrying many things because I have all my winter clothes there."

I nodded and looked at her. Her hair was tied up in a lovely ponytail, I loved when she did that.

I smiled at her.

"Come here," I said as I grabbed her face and closed the gap between our faces.

All I could hear and feel was Taeyeon's low chuckle against my lips.


	20. Meet The Kims - Part I

**POV — Taeyeon**

The plane had already taken off and Tiffany and I were both sitting quietly next to each other. _Thank goodness I got us first class,_ I thought. Surprisingly, there weren't many people there. In fact, there was only an old man sitting alone in the first seat, and then there were two middle-aged women, sat a couple of seats behind the man's, who were dressed as if they were going to meet Queen Elizabeth. As for me and Tiffany, well, we got the very last ones. We thought it was more private.

"But are you sure Prince is going to be okay?" Tiffany suddenly said, looking at me. "I've never left him alone for so long," she continued, "I mean, if we're really going to spend New Year's with your parents... What if he doesn't behave well? What if he gets sick and I'm not there? What if he gets sad because I'm not with him? Oh gosh, what if he terrorizes Sunny and she gets angry and-"

"First, calm down," I whispered and chuckled as I gently covered her mouth with one of my hands. "Second, I'm sure Prince is going to be just fine. Didn't you tell me he and Sunny get along really well?"

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, they do," she nodded and said as I withdrew my hand. "Sorry. I'm just... Worried about my puppy."

I watched as she flinched over and over again on her seat.

"You're nervous because we're going to see my family, aren't you?"

"Who, me?" Tiffany said. "No, no. I-I'm fine with that. Really fine, I mean, it's cool. You said they were nice people, I believe in that. I know they're going to treat me well and I bet Korea is just as beautiful as you said it is. Do your parents have a dog? I mean, unless one of them is allergic to dogs like you are, then they couldn't have one. But they could have a cat. If I were your parents, after you left home, I'd get myself a kitty and call it Taeyeon."

I chuckled once again and shook my head, holding Tiffany's hand. "Fany, you're babbling, and you don't make the talkative type, at least not like that. Now let me try again: you're nervous because we're going to see my family, aren't you?"

Tiffany pouted a tad.

"Yes."

"Come on, Fany, don't sulk," I squeezed her hand. "You don't need to feel anxious either, just relax. They're just my parents."

"You would be nervous too, if you were me! Everyone gets nervous when they are about to meet the family of whom they're dating. I mean, I know they probably won't know that we are dating, but I will and-"

"They will," I cut her off.

A small pause.

"What?"

"They will. Let's tell them," I nodded. "They're bound to know."

"Are you sure?" she shifted a little, getting closer to me. "I don't want you to feel pressured."

"I don't. Why, we are staying nearly ten days with my family, and you think I'm going to spend all this time refraining from enjoying our real closeness?" I shook my head, "You know, mom and dad have this spare room in their house which they offer to distant relatives when they visit and stay over. My whole family has always been fond of family gatherings and such and everyone is pretty much really close, so it's common for my parents to have relatives such as cousins come to their house and spend the weekend there, so my mother insists in always keeping that spare room clean, just in case. And I bet the woman has already prepared and tidied everything in that room for you to accommodate yourself and sleep comfortably. But that's not happening. You're sleeping in my room with me," I protested and frowned. "And it would be weird to tell my parents that you're going to sleep in my room if I didn't have a good excuse to justify taking my guest to sleep in the same bed as me. That's why we're telling them as soon as possible," I finished and smiled, proud of my own speech.

Tiffany crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Only so that you can take me to your room without leaving your parents wondering why?"

 _And also because I love you_ , I thought to myself.

I could feel my cheeks turning hot pink.

"And because I... I don't see why we should this from them," I said and smiled weakly at her.

She nodded and chuckled slightly. "Fine, I agree."

I kept staring at her face before withdrawing myself a bit.

I had fallen so deeply in love with Tiffany in the past month that I didn't know such thing was even possible. Or maybe I had already fallen with her way before that rainy and remarkable night, but hadn't realized yet. However, since we kissed for the first time and since we decided to start dating to, as we said, see where it would lead us to, I started to see Tiffany in a very different way. Suddenly, I had to use every bit of my self-control not to hug her or kiss her all the time, or even call or text her when she wasn't around. It was such an unspeakably overwhelming feeling that it felt as if everything had always been there, but remained unnoticed until we both gave it a little push.

And I knew I loved her. I knew it because I wanted to take care of her, because I wanted her to meet my family and I wanted her to be part of it, because I missed her every minute she wasn't beside me, because I could stare at her ridiculously beautiful face forever, because she made me feel complete and for many other reasons I had yet to discover and another bunch of reasons I couldn't even list in my head. _It's cheesy,_ I would always think to myself. But it was true. Cheesy, but true. And deep. Perhaps those 3 words could briefly describe the love I felt for her.

But I couldn't tell her that. I couldn't tell her I was in love. I was still soon and the thought that opening up could scare her away frightened me whenever it would come to my mind. Any time the slightest thought of telling her how I feel sounded like a good idea to me, my brain would most immediately respond me with two possibilities and one question: _the first possibility, she could feel pressured or scared; the second, she could love you back_.

And then there was the question, the only thing that would literally make me feel like a 5-year-old child afraid of the Boogie Man:

 _What if she doesn't love you back?_

"Hey," she called me, gently resting her hand on my arm and pulling me away from my thoughts. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded and smiled at her, sighing in relief. "Everything is fine. I guess I'm just a little... Anxious because I haven't seen my parents in two years," I had to lie, and quietly apologized to her in my mind.

"You must really miss them," she said as she slid her hand through my arm until it found my own and our fingers intertwined.

"I do. Sometimes, I even feel like moving in with them again," I chuckled. "But I can't move to Korea, my whole life is in Los Angeles now, and I know how mom and dad do better in our homeland, so I could never ask them to move back to the US because of me. I didn't ask them to stay when they had to go back to Seoul. And there's also Hayeon, mom and dad didn't raise her like they raised me. I was homeschooled, Hayeon goes to school normally and-"

"Who's Hayeon?" Tiffany interrupted me.

"She's my younger sister," I said and smiled, though my smile started to fade away and my eyes widened a little as I thought of Hayeon while looking at Tiffany. Hayeon. Tiffany. Hayeon with Tiffany. "Oh my god, Hayeon."

"I didn't know you had a sister. What's wrong?"

"You see, Tiffany... Uh... Hayeon kind of is a... A huge fan of yours."

Tiffany tilted her head and chuckled, looking at me. "Is she? Have you talked about me to her or what?"

"No. Actually, she talked about you to me."

"How was that so?" Tiffany chuckled again.

"A month ago I talked to my mother on the phone about my Christmas visit and she told me Hayeon was overly excited asking me to bring you to her as a Christmas present, and then the kid took ahold of the phone and started to ask me if you were with me, if you were as beautiful as you seemed to be and if you were... Soft."

Tiffany stared at me for a few seconds before laughing out loud, placing one of her hands over her mouth to muffle the sounds that were coming out of it.

"Did she really? How old is she?" she asked.

"Fourteen."

"Oh, Taeyeon, come on, this is nothing to worry about," she giggled. "I bet she is adorable. She's basically just a kid, Taeyeon, relax."

"She's not just a kid..." I muttered, "That girl can be mischievous! And sometimes even a little... Inconvenient. You see, while I am quiet and shy, Hayeon is really loud and shameless. I might be quite bold but Hayeon is just extremely straight-forward about everything. I mean, which 14-year-old girl in her right mind asks her older sister if the woman she is working with is soft?"

"Well, your sister does. And apparently, she knows what you've been doing on set with the woman you were working with," Tiffany said and laughed again. "But she'll get used to me, you'll see. You speak so well of your family, I'm sure your sister is as polite as you and as your parents seem to be, she won't do anything bad." She made a small pause. "Did you know a fan bit me one day?"

"Bit you?" I frowned.

"Yes. But it didn't hurt. I was at a premiere and I went over to the fans to take pictures and give autographs, and as I stood closer to them, this girl leaned in and bit my forearm," Tiffany giggled.

"And you thought that's funny?" I cocked an eyebrow.

I would be extremely offended if someone did that to me.

Tiffany shrugged. "Well, I do think that was a little extreme. But I'm sure she didn't mean any harm. And as I said, it didn't hurt. She was gentle."

"Oh dear," I chuckled. "And has any other fan done anything else of that kind?"

"No, nothing I can recall. You've never been through this kind of situation?"

"No," I shook my head. "My fans are as cool as I am," I winked.

Tiffany chuckled and we stayed quiet for a minute. She took my hand in hers once again and I squeezed it before gently pulling her closer to me.

She shifted on her seat, positioning herself more comfortably while laying her head on my shoulder, looking at me directly in the eyes. "Is anyone looking?" she whispered.

I shook my head and smiled widely at her, leaning in and catching her lips with my own.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

"Here we are!" Taeyeon said excitedly, laying one of the heavy bags on the floor and beholding the large house in front of us. "Home sweet home. Pretty one, isn't it? I personally chose it and bought it for them, a few years ago in one of my winter visits. It was a Christmas present. Mom almost cried."

 _Oh God._ _Oh my_ God.

"Yeah... Yeah. It's pretty," I said, trying to put on my best smile and pretend I wasn't a mess on the inside.

"Are you nervous again? It's going to be fine."

I scoffed. "I'm not nervous. I'm a grown up woman. It's going to be fine. I can do this, show me the way," I said as I picked up one of the bags.

Taeyeon stared at me for a while and cocked an eyebrow before slowly making her to the house's door, but I myself couldn't move a foot.

She turned back to me when she sensed I wasn't following her.

"Fine. I'm freaking out. It's unavoidable, okay? I'm sorry!"

Taeyeon chuckled and placed her bags down once again. She came back to me and gently placed her hands on my arm, carefully looking around to make sure there wasn't anyone hidden somewhere trying to photograph us before she placed a kiss on my cheek and led me towards the entrance.

"Come on, Drama Queen, don't be like that. Don't you trust me?" she whispered against my ear. A shiver ran down my spine and through my veins.

"I do," I breathed out. "I do, I'm sorry."

Taeyeon smiled at me and I took a deep breath as I watched her ring the doorbell and eagerly wait for someone to come. It didn't take long until her mother came and opened the door for us, smiling brightly as her eyes reached her daughter. Taeyeon dropped down everything she had in hands and threw herself on her mom's arms.

"MOM!" she cried, her smile as bright as the older woman's. "Finally!"

 _She must have really missed her mother_ , I thought.

"Taengoo, my dear..." her mother hugged her tightly. "Ah, stop this, I'm going to cry," she said as she let go of Taeyeon and took her face in her hands, taking a better look at her child. "Look at you! You are so beautiful! It's only been two years since I've last seen you but it feels like an eternity. And-"

I was smiling at the loving scene when I sensed the woman looking at me.

"Taengoo! You brought _Tippany_!" Taeyeon's mother said excitedly, as she freed Taeyeon and smiled at me. "She's beautiful!"

My smile grew wider. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kim," I said as I held out my hand for her to shake.

"Drop the formalities, dear. Come here!" she said, pulling me in a hug. I was taken aback for the sudden affection, but I gladly and readily returned it.

And what an adorable yet funny way the woman had of pronouncing my name.

"I see Taeyeon's spoken of me," I chuckled and let go of the woman as she beckoned at us to make our way into the house, helping us bring our luggage inside.

"Why, she did, but not only her. Taengoo has been a little left behind when it comes to you. Before you two even met, her sister was already your loyal fan. Did she tell you about Hayeon, _Tippany_?"

"Yeah. Your younger one, right? Is she home? It would be a pleasure to meet her." I nodded.

"Hey, I am not left behind!" Taeyeon protested, placing down the last bag and closing the door behind her. "It's just that she has been obsessed with Tiffany while I was busy making myself a living."

I giggled when I noticed Ms. Kim had ignored Taeyeon's remark, leaving the latter frowning like a kid. "Hayeon slept over a friend's house yesterday, she will probably be back in the afternoon. She is already on her winter break, you know? She has around a week off for the holidays."

"I see," I nodded and smiled politely.

I was feeling a tad uneasy. I'm wasn't usually like that. I have always been quiet yet outgoing, but something about that whole situation was distressing me a little. I concluded it was because I was in front of my actual girlfriend's mother, but something deep inside my head wanted me to also consider the fact that I was simply... Unfamiliar with families.

I looked at Taeyeon, but she seemed not to notice it.

"Where's dad?" she asked.

"Working. He'll be home at night. Now, Taengoo, can you take _Tippany_ 's luggage to our spare room as I lead her there? I still have to prepare you two lunch."

"Uh..." Taeyeon tried to speak.

"Please?" her mother cocked an eyebrow.

"I think Tiffany should sleep in my room," she suddenly blurted out. I was starting to feel anxious all over again.

"Why?"

"Because... Uh... She... We... T-the room," she stuttered, "the room might be... Dirty."

"Yah! Kim Taengoo don't you say such a thing in front of our guest! Of course it's not dirty!" the woman frowned. "I personally cleaned and arranged it especially for her. It is in perfect condition."

"You shouldn't have bothered yourself with that because of me, Ms. Kim," I said, feeling sincerely sorry for the burden I thought I might had caused.

" _Gwenchana_. Don't worry. Didn't Taengoo tell you we are used to have guests sleep over? It was nothing. Come, I will show you the way."

I knew Taeyeon wanted to have told her mother about us already, but she clearly couldn't do it. And I understood that, I was okay with it. It was her decision to tell her parents anyway, I didn't ask her for anything, as long as she felt good with herself and with her choices, I was happy.

But she wasn't, and her dissatisfaction with what has just happened was just plastered all over her face.

"Don't worry, Taeyeon," I called her and smiled gently. "I'm sure it's a perfect room. You can show me the house later."

And oh did it hurt to see Taeyeon all disappointed like that. If we weren't accompanied, I know I would have pounced on her and covered her face with kisses.

She merely looked at me and pouted, folding her arms.

...

"Ms. Kim, you're making me feel embarrassed," I chuckled. "It's great, really. It's an excellent room, I will be just fine."

"Really? I'm sorry if I'm acting like an inconvenient old woman, I just want to make sure you're comfortable. You're the first friend Taengoo brings with her and look at your adorable self, _Tippany_ , you deserve the best treatment I can get you," the woman said as she cupped my cheek.

I smiled.

"Really. It's funny though, its decoration even has small details in my favorite color," I said as I slightly looked around the room. "I love pink. I will sleep well here. Thank you very much."

"Alright then," she smiled back at me. "Since you've accommodated yourself, I'm going out for a while. I need to go grocery shopping. I have to cook lunch and Taengoo likes a full table on Christmas eve, I have to be ready for tomorrow night. I don't know if you're aware of it, but that kid eats a lot when she sees food she really likes," the woman giggled.

"All I know is that she cooks really well," I smiled.

"Oh, has she cooked for you?"

Good. Explain that, Tiffany. Tell her about your dinner dates with Taeyeon in her house in the US..

"Um... Yeah... We were... With friends. And we didn't know what to eat, so Taeyeon offered to cook dinner herself. Speaking of her, Ms. Kim," I tried to change the subject as quickly as possible, "where is she? She didn't come along."

"She is probably in her room. It's on the second floor. I've got to get going, I'm sorry, but can you go after her by yourself? You'll easily recognize her room, it has a huge 'T' on its door," Ms. Kim said as she started to make her way out of the room.

I nodded and smiled, waving her goodbye.

...

"Taeyeon?" I said as I knocked on the door. I received a simple 'Mmm' in response, so I assumed I couldn't come in. And so I did, turning the knob gently and making my way inside, my gaze falling on a sulking Taeyeon sitting in the middle of her bed.

"So this is your room? Pretty. All white and beige. It's classy like you," I smiled.

Taeyeon simply nodded.

"Hey," I sat on the bed, placing my hand on Taeyeon's cheek. "Don't you sulk like that because of such a silly thing. I hate to see you upset. We're going to tell them in the right moment, okay?"

"I felt like a coward," she muttered.

"You're not," I said, sternly. My hand made its way to the back of Taeyeon's neck before I gently held it, diminishing the space between our lips and pressing them together. "You're the toughest and coolest woman in Hollywood, remember?" I whispered.

Taeyeon smirked.

"I see kisses and compliments tend to light up your mood," I chuckled, withdrawing my face.

"Don't they light up yours?" she asked, as I shifted and placed myself beside her, then carefully brushed her hair with my fingers.

"I'm never moody."

Taeyeon stared at me for some seconds and I felt as if I were the most extraordinary thing she had ever seen. I kept brushing her hair slowly as I felt her hand rest on my thigh.

I shivered. She had never done that before.

"Weren't you with my mom?"

"She needed to go out," I said, and smiled as I remembered the way the woman had treated me. "You're lucky to have someone like her as your mother. She is amazing."

I didn't envy Taeyeon because she had a family and I didn't. I did have a family, in fact, but they weren't really... A family to me. So it was easier and better to pretend I didn't.

But I didn't need them. I had Taeyeon.

"Why does she call you Kim Taengoo, anyway?" I chuckled, making Taeyeon chuckled with me.

"Well," she started, while wrapping her arms around my waist and suddenly laying me down by her side. I chuckled louder. "Kim is my surname. Here in Korea, the surname comes before your name. She usually puts the Kim first when she wants to call me out on something."

"What about the Taengoo part?"

"That's the way she calls me since I was a baby."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Because she wants to?"

"Does it mean something?"

"Why are you so interested?"

"Talk properly to me, Kim Taengoo!" I exclaimed as I playfully slapped her arm.

"I don't know why," she chuckled. "I think it might mean something, but if it does, I don't remember what. She just calls me like that. Dad does it too, sometimes."

"Does your sister give you nicknames too?"

"She used to call me TaeTae when she was little because she couldn't pronounce my whole name. But since she started to grow up... Other than _unnie_? I don't think so."

"What does that mean?"

"What?"

" _Unnie_."

Taeyeon paused and stared at me.

"Tiffany, do I look like a Korean to English dictionary to you?" she laughed.

"Would it hurt if you just told me, Taeyeon?" I laughed with her.

"I don't know about that either. I think it has something to do with my being older than her. The kid has just always called me like that, do I really need to know why?"

"Fine, fine," I chuckled again, lightly resting my hands on Taeyeon's neck as I pecked her lips. "I'll stop pestering you."

"Thank you."

I was so entertained with our conversation I hadn't realized Taeyeon was lying on top of me, still firmly hugging my waist. A heat ran through my body when I grew conscious of the physical contact we were having. We had always been okay and comfortable with being touchy, especially considering the... Circumstances we had found ourselves under due our job, before we started dating. And we had been in a bed together many times when we slept over each other's house, but never like that. It had never been something so... Intimate. I felt like a virgin thirteen year old teenager thinking like that, but Taeyeon... Taeyeon just knew exactly how to make me feel like a mess inside.

"I liked TaeTae, though," I whispered against her lips as my hands traveled down her back, caressing it. I felt her let go of my waist and touch my face with both of her hands. "It suits you."

"I thought I was the toughest and coolest woman in Hollywood?"

"So?"

"How is TaeTae suitable for a tough and cool person?"

"It isn't," I kissed the tip of her nose.

"I'm confused."

"You're tough and cool most of time and you have this..." I made a pause and giggled shyly, "This sexy aura that is probably the reason why no one can resist you, but sometimes you can simply be this cuddly puppy who really likes to kiss me. That's why TaeTae suits you."

Taeyeon smirked.

"I'll let you call me like that, if you wish. But only because I was called sexy and irresistible. I'm flattered, thank you."

"Idiot."

Taeyeon smiled as she leaned down to capture my lips with her own. They moved slowly against each other's as our hands roamed carefully through the parts of ours bodies we were comfortable enough to caress. But it was a different kiss; it felt more sensual than the other we had shared before.

I muffled a soft sound that was begging to be uttered when I felt Taeyeon press her body against mine. I grabbed the back of her head with one of my hands as the other clutched her shirt and Taeyeon sucked on my lower lip. She positioned herself more comfortably on top of me, almost straddling my body, as her hands made their way to my back and her lips made theirs down my neck. My breath was caught in my throat, and there was nothing I could think of but that to feel Taeyeon kissing me like that was probably the best feeling I had ever experienced.

Though I would never want her to stop doing what she was doing, it only made me want to kiss her again. And so I did, entertwining my fingers on her hair and kissing her harder than I had ever kissed her before. As her hands caressed my back, she started to lift my torso up, bringing it to herself as she withdrew her body while perfectly sitting on top of me. I squeezed the back of her head and deepened the kiss as I let my tongue slide through hers, and allowed myself to be touched however Taeyeon wished to touch me when I felt her hands under my top.

I think it would be right to say one was just about to slam the other against the mattress when the phone rang and broke the moment.

"Shit," Taeyeon mumbled, under her still unsteady breath, after gently pulling away from our kiss.

"Go." I nodded. "It might be important."

She looked at me and gave me a lingering peck before reluctantly getting up and making her way out of her room.

I could feel I was burning red. I couldn't figure out whether it was because Taeyeon had definitely turned me on or because I was feeling shy as hell.

But I was certain that that was the best make out session of my entire life, and it did nothing but help me realize something I hadn't really noticed until then.

How much I wanted Taeyeon.

x

x

...

 **POV — Taeyeon**

"Hello?" I quite distressfully answered the phone.

"Unnie _? Is that you?_ "

"Hayeon?"

"Unnie, _you're home already! That's awesome. Is mom with you?_ "

"No," I sighed. "She went out."

"Unnie, _is everything okay?_ "

"Y-yeah. What do you want with mom, anyway?"

" _I suppose she told you I slept over my friend's house. Well, I need her to pick me up. I told her she didn't need to, but a sudden appointment came up to the Chois here and I need to go because I really don't want to be inconvenient._ "

"Fine, I'll call her on her cell phone and I'll ask her to pick you up. Are you okay, kid?"

" _Yeah! Thank you,_ unnie. _I can't wait to see you. Im so glad you're back._ "

"Alright then, take care."

I hung up the call and rested my body on the wall, sighing deeply. I was still trying to regain my composure and collect my thoughts after what had happened with Tiffany back in my room. We had never done that before, not like that. I didn't even know where I got the guts to boldly hold, touch and caress Tiffany the way I did. I was just glad I did so.

"So what's what they call desire, huh?" I mumbled to myself, almost inaudibly.

I ran a hand through my hair and shook my head, trying to free myself from the thoughts that weren't suppose to run wildly through my mind when I was about to speak to my mother. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and unlocked it, dialing her number right after.

"Yeoboseyo?"

"Mom."

" _Oh, hello dear! What's wrong?_ "

"Nothing. Hayeon called and asked you to pick her up at her friend's. Could you do that?"

" _Sure. Is everything alright there?_ "

"Yeah. Take care mom, call me if you need anything to be done around here before you come back."

" _Mhm. I'm always finished here, I'll be home soon. Your sister must be bubbling with excitement to see you!" she giggled. "Bye, Taengoo._ "

"Bye."

I made my way upstairs back to my room and felt very disappointed when I found it empty. I was expecting to come back to Tiffany waiting for me in my bed or looking around my room, as the curious woman she always was. But I saw nothing. Back to the first floor, I headed to the spare room in which my mother had settled Tiffany and slowly turned the knob and opened the door, being careful not to scare Tiffany as I didn't know what she was doing. To my surprise, I found her in her white sweatpants and a warm pink sweater, napping peacefully in the bed.

I smiled at the scene as I closed the door behind me and approached the bed.

When I got closer enough, I pulled a blanket over her body to keep her warmer. She wasn't used to South Korea's cold, and I just wanted to tuck her in nicely. All my previous thoughts about her and about what happened between us had vanished from my mind and were replaced by other thoughts that only said, "Take care of her."

I leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"Jet lag caught you good, huh?"

...

I was distractedly playing on my phone while peacefully lying beside Tiffany when I heard noises coming from the front door. I soon realized my mom had arrived, especially when I heard the sound of Hayeon's voice telling her about how her sleepover was. Eager to see my sister again yet unwilling because I didn't want to leave Tiffany, I got up and pocketed my phone, lazily making my way towards the door and then out of the room.

" _Unnie!_ " Hayeon exclaimed excitedly as soon as she saw me. I approached her and hugged her tight, a smile plastered on my face.

"Oh my God, look at you. All grown up and pretty, kid."

"I missed you, _unnie_. I know I'm usually a brat but I missed you a lot," she said as she let me go and looked at me. "You have to come visit us more often. Please."

"You know I would come see you all every weekend if it were possible."

"Aren't you on a vacation now?"

"Kind of. For a while. I'm planning to go on a vacation soon, though," I said as we made our way to the living room and sat on the sofa.

"Take me with you!"

I chuckled. "Where do you want to go?"

"Disneyland! Have you ever been there?"

"No, but I would like to go too. We'll go together."

"Do you promise?"

I smiled and nodded at her.

"GREAT! Did you bring me a present? You know, now that I'm a young lady growing up, I wanted mom and dad to travel to the US to visit you because I wanted to go shopping there. I mean, what we have here is really pretty and it's high quality stuff, but lately there's so many cutesy stuff all around," Hayeon rolled her eyes. "I don't like it. I want new clothes and American clothes look so much cooler."

"I... Sort of did," I smiled, remembering Tiffany was there too. "You're only getting it if you be a good girl, though."

" _OMO_! _Unnie_ , don't do that! Tell me, what is it? Wait wait wait, don't tell me... Did Tiffany sign something for me? Is it a poster? Oh and I didn't even ask you about her or about the movie yet! _Unnie_! Don't torture me!" she whined, shaking my arm.

"It is much better than a signed-"

"Did I hear my name?" a still closed-eyed, husky-voiced and yawning Tiffany appeared in the living room and cut me off, apparently still adjusting to where she was and fully regaining her counsciousness.

My eyes grew wide, and after that I just watched as Hayeon stared at Tiffany, frozen on her spot with her jaw completely dropped.


	21. Meet The Kims - Part II

**POV — Taeyeon**

"Oh, _Tippany_?" my mother entered the living room, smiling. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Tiffany responded and smiled, sleepily. "I took a quick bath and decided to rest a little, but I accidentally fell asleep. I couldn't help it, you know... Jet lag. That's why I look a little... Dead?" she chuckled. Apparently, she was already fully awake now, but still didn't seem to had noticed me and my sister. "I had never been on a plane for so many hours."

"I see. Well, if you need anything-" my mother stopped talking when she looked at me and Hayeon on the couch. Then, her eyes would change positions quickly a few times, from me to Hayeon, from Hayeon to Tiffany, and then finally they laid on me once again. "Oh my... Taengoo..."

Tiffany had this confused look on her face until her eyes followed my mother's gaze and saw me and Hayeon. She pointed at the latter and smiled.

"Is this Hayeon?" she said as she approached us, her smiling growing wider.

I wanted to do something to help or at least just to make sure Hayeon wouldn't completely go crazy out of blue, but I couldn't even say I thing. My sister didn't move, and I briefly wondered if she was even breathing.

Tiffany squatted in front of Hayeon and smiled once again, flashing my sister that bright and open smile of hers that was so popular and loved. She placed her hands on Hayeon's legs and looked right at her face.

"Hello, Hayeon," she said as she adjusted herself in front of the young girl. "I heard you like me a lot."

There was a moment of silence in the room before we all witnessed Hayeon throwing her arms around Tiffany's neck, hugging her tightly.

"I LOVE YOU!" she exclaimed.

I had to laugh.

Tiffany chuckled and gladly returned the hug. "It's great to meet you too."

"Wait, wait," Hayeon said as she withdrew herself a little and looked at Tiffany, holding her face. "Oh my God, it is really you... It's really you! Taeyeon _unnie_ did tell me she had brought me a present! This is the best present ever!" she hugged her again, smiling almost as brightly as the now eye-smiling Tiffany.

"Aw, Taeyeon..." Tiffany began, looking at me and hugging Hayeon back once again. "Your sister is the sweetest creature alive. That was the widest smile someone ever gave me," she chuckled.

I heard a sniff.

"Hayeon?"

"What?" she muttered, still clinging onto Tiffany.

"Are you crying?"

When Tiffany heard that last word, her face instantly turned to Hayeon.

"Why are you crying?" she said as she wiped away my sister's tears, her lips forming a slight pout. "I thought you were happy to see me. I'm happy to see you, Taeyeon to me so much about you."

"I am. I'm crying because I'm happy," Hayeon said. She then took a deep breath and looked around the living room, my mom was still standing there muffling her giggles. When she looked back at Tiffany and I, we were both smiling at her.

" _Omo_ , this is so weird." She hid her face in her hands.

Tiffany giggled and got up, sitting herself comfortably by Hayeon's side. The latter was now sitting in between her beloved idol and I.

"What's weird?" Tiffany asked.

Hayeon looked up at Tiffany. "T-this. I mean... Wow. You and Taeyeon _unnie_ see each other as normal people because you met as professionals and worked together, I see _unnie_ as a normal person too because she is my sister after all, but you've been my hero for years and I have always seen you as an unreachable being yet you're... Here. This is weird because it doesn't feel real," she finished, frowning.

Tiffany and I laughed out loud.

"Are you disappointed, though? Did you imagine meeting me to be better or more special than this?" Tiffany asked.

"No!" Hayeon readily said. "Not whatsoever. This is perfect, it's beyond anything I have ever imagined. I mean, which fan girl wouldn't like to have her idol in her home?" she said, shyly. I chuckled. "And besides, you are as beautiful as I thought you would be in person. Even your voice is perfect! You're all perfect!"

Tiffany chuckled and slid one of her hands through Hayeon's hair. "Thank you. You're beautiful too, Hayeon. And in fact," she said, looking at Hayeon and then at me, "you two are very similar."

"You think I look like _unnie_?" Hayeon said, smiling brightly. "Thank you!"

"Is that a compliment for you?" I asked.

Hayeon took a moment before she looked at me to respond. "If I say it is, will you bring Tiffany next Christmas?"

"If I say I will bring Tiffany, will you say you took that as a compliment?" I retorted, holding in my laugh.

"Gee, _unnie_!" Hayeon groaned. "Why are you like that?"

I smirked. "I'll take that as a yes."

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

The afternoon passed by in a blink of an eye, and it had been long since I had had such a pleasant day.

It was lovely meeting Hayeon and talking to her. Taeyeon had talked of her to me as if she were a little devil. And she might be, but she was just the sweetest of the girls to me. At one point of the day, she took me and Taeyeon to her room because she wanted to show me all the posters she had of me. I have to admit that entering a room full of huge pictures of me was a bit awkward at first, but upon seeing how much that young girl appreciated and cherished me, I soon relaxed and gladly went through everything she wanted to show me.

And despite the age difference, Taeyeon and I actually had a good conversation with Hayeon. She revealed herself to be a very mature girl, for her age at least. She briefly talked about the Korean culture to me and made me and Taeyeon a few questions about our new movie, casually mentioning how homosexuality was seen in Korea when we touched the topic. "Some people still frown upon it, the disapproval usually comes from the older generations," she said, "but people are slowly opening their minds about it. Things are changing, and it's more common than most people think. I don't think it's a big deal, neither do my friends. We think it's normal. Mom and dad didn't care when they knew about your movie either. I think they're okay with it, they are nice people."

Hayeon's words lingered in my mind for a while after they were said. It made me a little worried, what if Taeyeon didn't want to tell her parents about us right away because of that? Of course, I would understand. I would feel uneasy too. I just didn't want Taeyeon to feel bad about it, but throughout the day, I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her about that.

It was 9pm now, and we were all sitting at the dining table, including Taeyeon's father, who had just arrived from work. We were feasting on a delicious spaghetti Ms. Kim had wonderfully prepared.

"You know, _Tippany_ , Taengoo enjoys homemade Korean food when she comes visit us... But I didn't know if you liked it, so I chose to make a simpler dish. Is it good? I'm not that used to cooking foreign food," the woman humbly said, chuckling.

"It's great," I smiled. "Truly great, thank you. I love spaghetti. And I would love to try Korean food someday."

"You should make us _kimbap_ , mom," Taeyeon butted in. "Tiffany likes sushi, she should like _kimbap_ too."

"Why, I shall make _kimbap_ for dinner tomorrow, then," Ms. Kim nodded and smiled.

Everyone grew quiet for a few minutes and proceeded to eat peacefully. I took a look at every single person sitting on a table, and thought about how much the Kims were similar in their manners. Hayeon was eating politely, that wild young teenager persona of hers was gone; Ms. Kim was also enjoying the meal, casually looking at the others from time to time to make sure everyone was eating well. Mr. Kim remained quiet throughout the whole dinner time. He was indeed a nice and warm man as Taeyeon had told me, but he didn't talk a lot. Still, he had that loving father look, and I strongly believe anyone who saw him could point that out.

The last one I looked at was Taeyeon. When she sensed my gaze, she looked back at me. I smiled shyly.

"So, _Tippany_ ," I heard Ms. Kim call me, "do you like Christmas? Our kids have always loved Christmas," she smiled. "When Taengoo was a child, back in America, she would always ask for us to decorate the house as much as we could and make a huge meal for dinner. Hayeon grew up to that, too. Here in Korea things are a bit different, but we try to keep those traditions because the girls like them so much."

I smiled weakly. "I like it, but it's been a while since I've last celebrated it."

"Why is that so?" the woman frowned.

"I just..." I took a moment to think of what to say. I didn't want to open up about my family issues with them, especially on the dining table. "I've lost the habit. I don't see the premise of celebrating Christmas alone. That is, I'm... Often busy with work on Christmas day, sometimes I really don't even have time to think about it," I tried to smile. "But it's okay, it's just a holiday anyway."

I noticed Hayeon's confused stare.

"Oh, no, child," Ms. Kim responded, "Christmas is not just a holiday. It's a time to spend with your family or your loved one. Or even just with people who care about you. You see, let's put it like this: if Taeyeon brought you here with her, it's because she likes you a lot. If one of our girls likes someone, we instantly like that person too."

Mr. Kim was nodding proudly as the woman spoke.

"So don't make yourself spend a lonely Christmas ever again," she finished, smiling warmly at me before looking at Taeyeon. "Make sure to bring her to us next year if she plans on spending Christmas eve alone, understood?"

Taeyeon chuckled, nodding. "Gladly. But what makes you so sure we will still be in touch by the next Christmas?"

"Why, Taengoo. I have a good feeling about you and _Tippany_. You never told us about any friend, let alone brought one here. You don't bring people to your parents' house unless you want them to stay in your life, it doesn't matter if they're friends or a lover," the woman said, matter-of-factly.

I found myself at a loss of words, and so overwhelmed with feelings that I had to use all my psychological and emotional strength to keep myself from tearing up. My family had never bothered to try to reunite for Christmas since we stopped talking and contacting. They never worried about me spending Christmas on my own nor about making sure I was okay. I was used to being always by myself and to not having anyone worry about me. Ever. But then Taeyeon came into my life and made me feel all the things I thought I would never experience again. She gave me attention and affection, she took care of me, she made me feel loved and important. And now she had taken me to meet her family, a beautiful family that I felt blessed to meet and to be among.

"Thank you, Ms. Kim," I responded and smiled brightly, finally collecting my thoughts and gathering words. "Really."

We spent a few more minutes talking. When everyone had finished their food, Taeyeon and I followed Ms. Kim to the kitchen. While she let Taeyeon help her put away a few things, she didn't let me help her do the dishes as I suggested. Instead, she told Taeyeon to lead me to my room, as she noticed I had yawned a few times. I was indeed tired, still not devoid of jet-leg.

When Taeyeon and I reached the room I was sleeping in, I kissed her cheek gently before planting a chaste kiss on her lips. I whispered a good night before I turned the knob and opened the door, quickly getting in. Quickly, because otherwise, I wouldn't let go of her. But my whole plan went down the drain when I turned to close the door and felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, and soft lips caressing my own.

"Are you trying to get rid of me just like that?"

I chuckled.

"Actually, I wanted you to stay and sleep with me tonight," I mumbled, wrapping my arms around her neck, "but I know I'll simply have to deal with the fact I'll be sleeping alone."

Taeyeon didn't respond, but I noticed a guilty look in her eyes.

I didn't understand that.

"Now go, your mother is waiting for you to help her. I'll change and brush my teeth and then I'll go to sleep, I'm really tired," I assured her, caressing her shoulders with both of my hands.

But she just kept staring at me.

"Taeyeon..." I chuckled, "Will you?"

She smiled shyly. "Sorry. I stared, didn't I?"

"I like your stares, but you need to go," I said, brushing my lips against hers. "Now, before we kiss each other. You know kisses always get in our way of doing things."

"Let me at least put you to sleep?"

"I'm 25."

"I don't care."

I smiled, kissing her lips a few times as I lightly pressed my body against hers before I let go. "Fine. But let me go so I can change and brush my teeth."

When I came out of the bathroom, comfortable and warm enough in a new pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, I found Taeyeon sitting on the bed, distractedly doing something on her phone. I smiled a little, approaching the bed and soon quietly lying on it. I let one of my hands slide through Taeyeon's back and caress it in order to gain her attention back.

"Hey," she cooed, turning to me. "So, did you have a good day?"

"Wonderful day. Your family is lovely."

She smiled at me and leaned in, taking my lips in hers for a kiss that, I believed, the both of us longed for throughout the whole day. If I had to choose the best moment of any day, besides any moment that I would spend with Taeyeon, I would probably choose one of the many moments in which we share a kiss.

I let my lips slide against hers slowly enough for the both of us to taste each other fully. I tangled my fingers in her hair as I pulled her closer while she adjusted her body more comfortably on the bed as to touch me more properly. Soon she was on top of me again, kissing me boldly as she interposed some delicate biting on my lower lip with passionate kissing.

Reluctantly, I pressed my lips against hers one last time, letting the kiss linger there as I gently pushed her away.

"You need to go. By now your mother must be wondering why the heck you're taking so long to come back."

Taeyeon pouted childishly.

"For crying out loud, Taeyeon," I chuckled.

"Fine," she finally gave in. "I'll go now, but don't you complain if I sneak out of my room and get into bed with you here in the middle of the night."

"How old are you? Fourteen?"

She smirked at me and placed a gentle kiss on my lips, then whispered in my ear, "Secrets usually make things more exciting." Taeyeon then kissed my forehead and got up, wishing me a good night as she caressed my cheek with one of her hands before making her way out of the room. I grinned to myself and closed my eyes, letting myself feel my body go numb and fall asleep quickier than I though I ever could.

x

x

...

POV — Taeyeon

"You're back," my mom said as I entered the living room. Hayeon and my father were sitting on the sofa watching TV. "I have already finished everything. Why did you take so long?"

I noticed Hayeon's attention turn to me as my mother made me that question.

"Tiffany wasn't completely familiar with the bathroom. I had to help her out with a few things."

My mother simply nodded in response.

"So..." I started as I sat on the other sofa, facing my parents and my sister, "Does everyone in this family like Tiffany?"

"Absolutely!" mom answered, smiling. "She's a lovely woman. So nice and polite."

"Did I scare her out, though?" Hayeon asked, worriedly. "You know how much I like her, don't you, _unnie_? I'm afraid I might have crept her out with my fan girl-ness."

I chuckled, "You didn't. She already adores you." I looked at my father. "... What about you, dad?"

"Oh, yes," he nodded. "She's good, she's a nice girl. It's good for you to be around people like her. Hollywood stars always look so crazy and rebellious, but _Tippany_ doesn't even get close to acting that way."

I took a deep breath and smiled apprehensively. I could already feel my hands sweat, and my heart started to pound as I tried to gather the right words and the guts to tell my parents what I had been meaning to tell them from the minute I arrived that day.

"Great. I have something to tell you."


	22. Family Is The Greatest Gift - Part I

**POV — Taeyeon**

I made a pause and inhaled deeply once again, trying to calm down my already pounding heart. I wiped my hands on my pants, trying to keep them from sweating nervously, and decided to speak once for all before I lost the courage that was already hard enough to gather previously.

"Tiffany and I have been dating for a month now," I announced and paused once again, gulping. I continued my speech before any of the three people sitting across the room could say anything, "I promised her we would spend the holidays together after she told me she usually spends Christmas on her own, but when I did so, I forgot I had promised you all I would finally come visit this year. I didn't want to give up either of the options, I couldn't... That's why I brought her here, it was the only way I figured out to be with everyone at the same time," I sighed. "And moreover, you were bound to know, I would have to tell you sooner or later before a stupid tabloid broke the news to you and quite possibly to the rest of the world too," I said as I finally eyed them.

My eyes traveled through each member of my family. They were all sitting quietly, probably still digesting the information and thinking of something to say. None of them had any expression of disapproval on their faces, but their lack of words was making me start panicking, and I could already feel tears taking form in my eyes.

"I know it's shocking, okay?!" I said, almost as a whine, but still trying my best to keep myself calm and composed. "I know this is something a lot of people in this country still frown upon, I know it must hurt you a little my bringing a woman you don't know into your home and then suddenly telling you I'm in a relationship with her, and I acknowledge your right to be mad at me or upset if you want to... Just- just please say something now, any of you. You know how anxious silent treatment makes me feel," I finished, burying my face in my hands.

The silence painfully remained for a few seconds until I heard soft steps approaching me calmly before a pair of hands rested on my legs. I discreetly yet immediately wiped away the tears that had rolled down my cheeks and slid one my hands through my hair to fix it, only to look down and see my sister comfortably kneeling in front of me.

"Are you really dating Tiffany, _unnie_?" she frowned a bit.

I nodded.

I was expecting Hayeon to feel crept out, disgusted, or something like that, but I was entirely surprised by the sight of her frown turning into one of the bright and pretty smiles she would give someone when she was happy, or when that someone made her happy. I was about to cry once again, now right in front of her, until I watched her get up and felt her arms thrown around me in a comfortable hug that I readily returned.

"She's good, _unnie_. I know she is. You both are and you're going to be happy together," Hayeon muttered warmly. I could feel my cheeks burn with the tears rolling down once again as I hugged my sister.

She, however, heard my muffled sniffs and let go of me, taking my face in her hands and smiling at me once again as she wiped away the few strands of hot water on my face. "Don't cry. You're the best _unnie_ in the whole world, did you know that?" She chuckled, "How cool it is that you somehow managed to make Tiffany Hwang part of our family, _unnie_?"

I chuckled and finally smiled heartedly at Hayeon. I was about to respond when I noticed my mom making her way towards us and sitting right beside of me, gently touching my arm as a comprehensive smile took form on her lips. "Taengoo... I'm not going to lie, what you just told us is not something we would expect or that is very natural in our eyes. But tell me, dear... Have we ever gotten mad at you for making your own decisions?"

I took a moment before whispering shyly, "No."

"That's right, we haven't," my mom protectively caressed my arm. "We raised you in a foreign country under a foreign culture for fourteen years, and then we left you there to grow and mature on your own as you made yourself a living. We were all bound to have different convictions, and eventually our opinions will clash, because our personalities were built very differently. But that doesn't mean we're going to be mad at each other because of that, dear. Let alone let that interfere in our own and individual lives. I'm glad you told us," my mother nodded calmly and gave me a reassuring, kind smile. "I'm not sad, I'm not mad, I'll get used to it and I will support you. I have my daughter with me once a year for a few days... I'm not going to let anything ruin my relationship with her in any way."

I let the tears roll down my cheek once again as I pounced on my mother and hugged her tightly. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe how kind she was being and how good she was making me feel, ebbing my nervousness effortlessly. There's something I have always admired in my mother, and that was her finesse when handling basically everything that was thrown at her. I, on the other hand, was born with a little less control over my own emotions, and would end up feeling anxious and desperate in any particularly stressful situation.

As Iet go of my mother, I looked up and spotted my dad approaching. I didn't know whether I should feel happy or nervous, at that moment. I knew my dad was the most conservative and traditional in our family, but I also knew the kindness of his shy heart and how well he would always treat me since I was a child. Even when I took part in movies that would make him say things such as, _"Ah, I don't like to see my baby girl like that,"_ he was always by my side, supporting my unconditionally.

I just hoped it wouldn't be different then.

"Taeyeon-ah," he said, sitting down.

"Dad, I-"

"Shh, listen. You'll always be my beloved daughter, regardless of the decisions you make concerning your own life, understood?" he gently held my chin. "Your mother is right and I agree with everything she told you. We'll get used to it, even if it's hard, if it's about your happiness and well-being we're talking about. We told you we like Tiffany, didn't we? We like her. And if she makes you happy, we'll like her even more," he concluded, nodding. "And we'll welcome her in our family gladly."

"See?" my mom spoke again, making me turn my attention to her. "Family comes above all. We learned a lot with your open mind and heart as you were growing up, Taengoo, and we still have a lot to learn. We will always be by your side, even if that means we need to ignore certain things and beliefs that could come between us. You should know that."

I was overwhelmed with happiness. I didn't know what to do or who to look at first. I had both of my parents sitting beside me and comforting me in the best way possible, and my sister standing in front of us with a proud smile on her face. I felt happy and like the luckiest woman alive. They would try their best for me. They put me first and thought of my personal happiness and satisfaction when they could have just disregarded me. I wanted to say something after all the wonderful things they told me, but I just couldn't. I couldn't express in words all the joy that had taken over me.

"I'm just so, so lucky to have the family I have," I said as I smiled and pulled them all at once in a tight embrace, ignoring the small length of my arms and making sure everyone was getting squeezed in them. My smile only grew wider when I felt myself equally tightly hugged by all the three.

"We're always proud of you," my mom whispered, kissing my head.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

I groaned as my phone's alarm went off and I struggled to open my eyes.

I knew that was going to happen. Which was exactly why I had set my alarm clock when I woke up in the middle of the night. I didn't know what kind of problem my body had with cloudy, rainy or cold weather, but I just wouldn't function properly under none of those and I would always, always have a hard time waking up in the morning.

"Literally under the weather," I muttered to myself as I stretched a little.

I'd usually be a bit senseless for a few seconds until I remembered who I was and where I was, even if I were in my own bed and in my own house. But I was reminded of where I was as soon as I woke up, even without opening my eyes.

I had never experienced a winter as cold as Korea's. I mean, maybe it wasn't even _that_ cold, but for a girl who lived her entire life in Los Angeles, Korea's negative degrees at night and in the morning could be almost literally freezing. I was quite surprised there was no indication of snow, though. On the contrary: I could see the morning rays of sun beaming through the curtains of the room as soon as I finally gathered enough strength to open my eyes at, I checked my phone, half past nine in the morning.

I texted Taeyeon asking if she was already up and then headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I tried to move as fast as I could, so I wouldn't feel so cold after leaving the warm blankets I slept under. After I was done, I picked up some black leggings and the longest and most comfortable boots I had brought in the same color, and finished my outfit with the warmest sweater I could find. It happened to be a royal blue one. I've always liked to wear blue; although it's not my favorite color, people for some reason say it suits me well.

As I didn't really think I needed to bother with makeup, as soon as I was finished with dressing myself, I picked up my phone, expecting to see a reply from Taeyeon, and I found it weird when I saw nothing. _Maybe she's still asleep, it's still early_ , I thought. But I didn't want to sit by myself in the room until someone knocked on the door to see if I had already woken up, so I made my way out of it, ready to greet the Kims.

The house was strangely quiet. It almost felt as if I were left alone in it. I furrowed my brows, trying to think of what to do. That was when I heard a distant sound that seemed to come from outside the house.

It sounded like a... _Sneeze?_

Soon, I started to hear talking too. Instinctively walking around the house and trying to follow the sounds I was hearing, I found myself making my way to the backyard. As I pushed the beautiful white back door open, I found Ms. Kim and her two daughters sitting around a pretty table. Mr. Kim, I presumed, was busy with work or something like that, for I didn't see him there. Hayeon was holding something, and I could clearly hear Ms. Kim talking to her.

"You are returning it, young lady!" the woman scolded her. I started to quietly approach them.

"No! Mom, come on," Hayeon whined. "I don't want to return it. It's so beautiful and so fragile, I want to keep it, please. And by the way, it's a he, okay?!"

Taeyeon sneezed, and I couldn't contain a giggle.

Ms. Kim was about to argue back at Hayeon when she noticed my presence. She immediately showed me a warm smile, pushing her chair a little and getting up to give me a hug. " _Tippany_ , good morning!" she said, letting go of me. I greeted her back. "Have you been standing there for too long? I'm sorry if I didn't notice you, it's just that this kid here," she pointed at Hayeon, "is giving me a headache. Don't ever have kids, _Tippany_ , don't ever..." the woman said, sighing afterwards. I laughed before I looked at Hayeon, who was pouting dramatically.

"Good morning, Hayeon," I said, smiling. "What are you- Oh my god, is this adorable little thing yours?" I cooed, eyeing the black puppy that Hayeon was holding close to her chest. My smile grew wider as I kneeled down and petted it.

"H-hi, Tiffany," Hayeon grinned back at me. A little nervously, I noticed. Maybe she still wasn't fully used to my presence. "And yes, it's mine, but mom wants to get rid of it!"

"I want to WHAT?" Ms. Kim widened her eyes in shock. "Kim Hayeon, don't you speak about me like that! I don't want to get rid of the dog, but you just took it without telling me! Do you have any idea of the amount of attention and care a puppy requires, child? Worse, it's a stray dog, what if it has an illness? And what about your sister? Are you just going to let her sneeze like a crazy woman around the house until she goes back to America?"

Hayeon frowned. "I got him without telling you because I knew you would probably say no. About his health, that's what vets are for. And Taeyeon _unnie_... It's not Ginger's fault that she's allergic to dogs. Let me keep him, please! I'll spend all my allowance on him and walk him and feed him and play with him! I promise you he won't trouble you and you'll grow to love him."

I would giggle at Hayeon's words, if I weren't too busy gently caressing the puppy's curled dark fur with my fingertips. It was just too adorable. And for a stray dog, it really looked a lot like a dog of breed. A poodle, to be more specific. Maybe someone's poodle gave birth and the person didn't want the puppies, so they abandoned them and Ginger, as Hayeon said, was one of them.

"Oh, Ms. Kim, I know I'm no one to give my opinion on this, but... Let Hayeon have him. Look at this pretty face, he's adorable. Besides," I looked up at the woman, smiling politely, "they say it's good for anyone's health to have a pet. They bring happiness to a home and they cheer their owners up when they seem to be feeling blue."

Ms. Kim listened to me attentively, then turned her attention to the young girl sitting protectively with a puppy on her lap. She stared at the duo for a few seconds before nodding sternly.

"Okay. You can keep him, kid. But you must take care of him and I don't want to see dog dirt anywhere in the house. It's your pet, so it's also your responsibility from now on," the woman said.

Hayeon's eyes sparkled with happiness as she broke into a huge and pretty smile. "Thank you, mom!" she exclaimed.

I looked at her and smiled, winking as if I were her partner in crime. I patted her shoulder and got up.

" _Tippany_ , if this dog turns out to be a burden, I'm blaming you and I'm sending it to you in America," Ms. Kim said playfully and then chuckled, tapping a chair beside the one she had just sat on again. "Have a seat, dear."

I smiled again and nodded as I heard the older woman's voice, still eyeing the puppy on top of Hayeon's legs. When I looked up and started to make my way to the chair, I noticed a frowning Taeyeon with her arms and legs crossed. I smiled.

"Good morning. Your sneezes brought me here," I said, not able to hold back my laugh. Hayeon and Taeyeon's mother laughed with me. I finally sat down by the latter's side.

"Why, good morning, Tiffany. I thought you wouldn't see me here," Taeyeon said.

Hayeon, who was sitting beside Taeyeon, eyed her sister and lifted Ginger, placing his paws on Taeyeon's lips. "I didn't remember how stupid you are when you're jealous. Last time you acted like this it was because mom and dad had given me your old toys because you no longer played with them, but regardless you didn't want to share. Now you don't want to share Tiffany with a dog?" the young girl asked, chuckling.

 _Share me? What-_

" _ATCHOO_!" Taeyeon sneezed loudly. "First," she began, withdrawing her face from the puppy and rubbing her nose a few times, "shut the hell up, Hayeon. Second, please take your puppy away from me," she paused, rubbing her nose again. "He's beautiful, but he gives me a running nose and it is unpleasant."

I stared at both of the girls sitting across me in confusion, Hayeon's words running wild in my mind. What did she mean by saying Taeyeon didn't want to share me? Was she trying to imply something?

... Did she know something?

"So, Tippany, did you sleep well?" Ms. Kim asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I looked at her and nodded slowly. "Yes, very well," I smiled thankfully. "Thank you."

"Aren't you hungry?"

I chuckled shyly. "A bit."

"Why didn't you tell me, child? Come on," the woman said, getting up. Taeyeon and Hayeon followed her, the latter still protectively holding her puppy against her chest in a warm embrace. "I'll get you all something to eat."

"I'm not hungry, can I stay here?" Taeyeon asked. "I'm kind of lazy and I don't really want to move a lot."

"No. You too. By the way, Taengoo, you're a terrible host," I heard the woman say as I got up. "You might not feel hungry nor eat in the morning, but that doesn't give you the right not to feed your own girlfriend."

I tripped on my own foot when I heard that last word, and I would have faced the ground if Taeyeon hadn't pulled me back. Literally.

"Great ways to break the news, mom," Taeyeon said sarcastically as she helped me steady myself.

"What?" the woman asked, looking truly puzzled.

I could just stare at Taeyeon's mother and sister for a few seconds.

"I'm-" I cleared my throat. "I'm feeling a little confused," I said, eyeing Taeyeon and cocking an eyebrow. "Would you kindly like to explain, Taeyeon?"

Was that really happening? I hadn't said a thing about our relationship to anyone, I hadn't even hinted on it in any moment... How did Ms. Kim know about me and Taeyeon? Did Taeyeon just tell her or something?

Taeyeon smiled apologetically. "I told them about us last night. You were asleep. Sorry?"

"Kim Taengoo! You told your family about your girlfriend but you did not tell her you did so?" Ms. Kim scolded Taeyeon.

"That's a lot of things to tell!" Taeyeon complained. "And she was-"

"No, it's okay," I interrupted Taeyeon and looked at her mother once again. "I just... Feel embarrassed. I don't know what to tell you, Ms. Kim. I know it might make you feel uncomfortable, I didn't pressure Taeyeon to tell you, it was her choice and-" I choked on my words as I felt weak tears in my eyes.

"Child," Ms. Kim began, "don't worry." She took one of my hands in hers and smiled kindly at me. I sighed heavily in relief. "Taeyeon's father and I had a good conversation with her yesterday and I can speak for him. You're welcomed in our family and as long as Taengoo is happy, we're happy too. Even Hayeon was happy, she was the first to walk to Taeyeon and tell her it was okay," the woman said smiling as she looked at Hayeon, who was giving me a thumb up.

As I got emotional, I let a few tears roll down my cheek but wiped them away rapidly, smiling at the woman in front of me. "Thank you, Ms, Kim." I looked at Hayeon. "You too."

"Had I known it would result in my idol being part of my family, I would have prayed to all the Hollywood gods for her to meet my sister as soon as possible," the girl said, caressing Ginger. "What did you see in her, though?" she chuckled.

"I'm going to set fire to your posters," Taeyeon hissed.

"You," I said as I heard Taeyeon's voice and turned to her, pointing a finger at her face. "I'm a little mad at you."

"Okay, we'll let you two talk privately," Taeyeon's mother said, chuckling. I saw Taeyeon nod at her and then heard footsteps fading away behind me and, soon after, a door closing.

I was about to start complaining when I felt Taeyeon's arms wrap around me and her lips caress my own in short, but lingering kisses.

"May I know why you're mad at me?" Taeyeon asked, grinning.

"You kiss too much."

"And you talk too slow."

I sighed, resting my hands on her neck. "I understand your decision. Thinking through it, maybe it was better like that. I would probably feel awkward sitting next to you in front of them while you did the talking..."

Taeyeon nodded. "That's what I thought of before I decided to tell them on my own."

"But you could have at least told me after you were done! Maybe texted me saying, like, 'Hi Tiffany, I just told my parents we are dating.'"

"Sorry," Taeyeon whispered, brushing her nose on my own, "I was so nervous."

I finally broke into a smile, cupping her cheek with one of my hands and kissing her lips gently. "It's okay. You're forgiven. But wouldn't you like to tell me about how was it?"

Taeyeon grinned, whispering quite seductively as she leaned in for another kiss, "Later."


	23. Family Is The Greatest Gift - Part II

**POV — Tiffany**

"What are you going to bake, Ms. Kim?" I asked as I followed the woman into the kitchen.

"A chocolate cake for tonight's supper," she nodded, opening a cabinet. "I know we're still in the middle of the afternoon, but I have to cook so many things until then that I think it's better to provide the dessert already and let it cool. Do you like it?"

"I do. But it's funny... I've never had chocolate cake on Christmas."

Ms. Kim chuckled. "Is it even a traditional Christmas dish? I only make it because the girls love it, it's become a tradition in our family. Even Taeyeon's father likes it, although he doesn't usually like sweets." She made a small pause. "Can you cook, _Tippany_?"

"No..." I let out a slightly embarrassed giggle as I sat down, after noticing Ms. Kim beckoning me to do so. "No, I can't. I tried to make scrambled eggs in front of Taeyeon once, but I failed miserably and she had to help me out. I'm a terrible cook."

"You are indeed," I heard Taeyeon's voice coming from behind me. I turned around and saw her entering the kitchen, smiling teasingly as she looked at me.

"Who invited you?" I taunted her.

"My, my. So rude, Hwang," she croaked. "This is my parents' house and I bought it for them, so it is partially mine. I don't need to be invited to anything. Besides, I heard someone say chocolate cake," she looked over to her mother and grinned mischievously. Soon after, I felt her hands rest on my shoulders, giving them a light and affectionate squeeze. "I'm here for the frosting's leftovers."

"Kim Taengoo, I haven't even started making the batter yet!" Ms. Kim sighed and shook her head, flailing her hand in a way of telling Taeyeon to leave the kitchen. "You know these things take time. Go do something else, will you? I'll call you when it's done. Just don't pester me, you know I need to be entirely focused when I cook."

I looked up and eyed Taeyeon looking at Ms. Kim with a displeased frown on her face. "Why can't I stay here so that we can have a talk or something? Since I woke up this morning all you've been doing is pick on me as if I were a foolish child."

"That's what mothers do. They pick on their children," the woman eyed Taeyeon before she started to gather different utensils around the kitchen. "It's fun because they can't retort. You should see your face or your sister's when I pick on you. It's priceless," she laughed.

I smiled at Ms. Kim playfulness, but my smile instantly started to fade away when my brain threatened to start to mull over her words.

"Don't grumble, Taeyeon," I crooned and smiled again, forcefully and rather weakly this time. "If she weren't here with you, you would wish she were to pick on you."

Taeyeon looked down at me for a few seconds before she opened her mouth to speak and shook her head rapidly in denial. "Fany... I'm sorry, I really, really didn't want you to-"

"No," I interrupted her before slightly biting my lower lip in an attempt to calm my raging hurtful feelings down, "it's okay. You didn't do nothing wrong. I'm, uh... I'm going to see Hayeon. I want to play with Ginger, I miss my pet already and maybe Ginger can make up for Prince's absence," I said as I got up, looking over to Taeyeon's mother, who was listening to us attentively. "May we finish our conversation later, Ms. Kim?"

The woman simply nodded at me and showed me what I judged to be an understanding smile before I left the kitchen.

x

x

...

 **POV — Taeyeon**

I couldn't help feeling guilty as I watched Tiffany making her way out of the kitchen, leaving me and my mother alone. I looked at the latter and sighed.

"She's right. I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to be rude or ungrateful."

"You weren't, dear. I'm just confused, what happened? Why did _Tippany_ say that and then looked so sad?"

"Tiffany's mother is no longer with her. She passed away when Fany was only seven. I think... What I said made her think about how does it feel to grow up without a mother. Ugh, I didn't want to see her upset, I know how much that pains her," I inhaled sharply and then hissed against the palm of my hands, that were now covering my buried face, "I feel like trash now."

My mom looked at me for a few seconds as if she were digesting what I had just said. She sighed and smiled apologetically. "Go after her. Comfort her. And I don't think she's mad at you, Taengoo, but do apologize. Maybe it will make her feel better."

I looked up, uncertain. "Should I? What if I made her cry? She wouldn't like to have me see her crying, she doesn't like to cry in front of anyone. She's such a strong woman, mom. She keeps it all to herself, you know? Her burdens, her worries, her sadness... Everything. She's not like me, she doesn't simply explode when she feels overloaded. She... I don't know how she does that. But her mothers death... I think she can never hide how much broaching that subject hurts her. And this is the first time I see her upset because of this since the day she told me about it, I'm so unsure about how to soothe her, what if I mess up and make everything worse?"

My mother shook her head in disagreement. "You won't. You said this is the first time this happens, didn't you? Right, so it's time for you to start learning how to deal with it. You seem to truly like _Tippany_ , Taengoo... So if you do, you must always be by her side, even when she feels sad or when you two have a misunderstanding. Not only as her... Girlfriend, but most importantly as her friend."

I heeded my mother's words as if she were telling me a magical spell and nodded my head when she finished talking. "You're right." I smiled gratefully.

...

I found Tiffany sitting on one of the stair's first steps. Her face was slightly tilted down as her head rested on the handrail and her fingers fidgeted.

"Hey," I purred as I approached her, self-consciously. Though I was expecting her to ignore me, she simply straightened her position and beamed me a faint smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything to upset you." I sat down next to her and let my hand hold her own, intertwining our fingers togethr.

"I know. I mean, it's okay, it definitely wasn't your fault. My mind is the one to blame." She sighed and then muttered, "I'm just... Overly sensitive over any thing that regards mothers, I guess."

As she finished speaking, I gently let go of her hand and softly threw my arm around her shoulders, slowly pulling her to myself in a delicate embrace. She placed her head on my shoulder and leisurely snuggled closer, making herself comfortable by my side. "There's nothing wrong with that," I whispered against her cheek before placing a chaste kiss on it. "I'll be more careful, I promise."

"You don't need to. I'll learn how to retain my feelings when it comes to this."

"But you already retain your feelings way too much." I held her chin up so that her eyes would meet mine. "You think I don't know it, mm?" I cooed. "But I do. I can see that there are a lot of things that go through that stubborn mind of yours that I don't get to know about and I know you also usually hide your feelings. And not only from me. But do you remember that day we took a drive, ate junk food in the middle of nowhere and literally talked for hours?"

Another faint smile and a quick nod. "Of course."

"That night I told you I was sure I would never stop getting to know you, but that I really wanted to. And I meant it, I want to know all about you, and that includes your feelings and your thoughts. You're not a robot and you don't need to prove yourself strong in front of me. I want to know what you feel and what you think, I want to see all the sides of you. And I want you to know me like that too, you know? Not only because we're a couple, but because we've always had this amazing friendship and complicity since day one that I intend to keep and strengthen. Don't you?" I murmured, cupping her face with my free hand.

"Of course I do," she said, and I felt her hand rest on my wrist before I noticed a playful little grin on her lips, "but how am I going to entirely unfold Ms. Mysterious?"

I giggled and wrapped my arms around her waist, carefully so that my move wouldn't make her now serene face leave my shoulder, before I tightened the embrace. "I'm not mysterious. I might be quiet and shy at first or around people I don't know... But, see, as you spend more and more days tolerating my boring self, you'll notice I'm very forthright, explosive and short-tempered. I often need to let things out."

The rust-haired beauty in front of me finally broke into a genuine smile, making me feel triumphant. An eyebrow was raised. "Quite tetchy, are we?"

I smiled back at her and nodded. "A bit. Nobody's perfect."

"What else do I need to know about you?"

I pondered for a moment. "I really like to talk about things I'm passionate about. See? It's easy to get to know me. I'm used to letting it out whenever it befits me and I bore the heck out of people by babbling about things I love. There's no mystery," I finished, sniggering.

Tiffany smiled at me once again and leaned in, closing the gap between us, pressing our lips together a few times in delicious, yet chaste kisses.

"Tae," she breathed out, pulling away a tad and eyeing me again, "do you know any nearby florist shop?"

I looked at her, puzzled. "Perhaps. But it's easier to ask that to Hayeon. Why?"

She smirked. "Why, I don't know. If I need a florist shop, it's probably because I want to buy uh, let's see, undergarments?"

I squinted and tried to suppress a smile. "Now are you sassing me, missy?"

Tiffany laughed. "Alright. I want to buy some flowers for your parents. I know you're going to say I don't need to worry about that, but they welcomed me so well and I didn't have the time to buy anything for them. I arrived here empty-handed and I didn't mention, but I felt very uncomfortable because of that. Now I can't not to give them a present on Christmas eve."

"Oh... Okay, then. I'll ask Hayeon and I can take you there," I said as I slowly let go of Tiffany and started to get up. Before I could walk away from her, I felt her hand hold my wrist in a tender, yet firm way.

"Wait. I need something else," she said.

"That would be?"

Tiffany smirked, blatantly holding in her her laugh. She gracefully got up and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer and then painfully slowly moving her face towards mine as if she were expecting me to take a step further and initiate the kiss.

Well, so I did.

x

x

...

 **POV — Tiffany**

"I don't understand why you insist on staying here when now we can freely sleep together in the same room. And mine is bigger, you wouldn't have any problem staying there," I heard Taeyeon say as she made her way into the room. I had just finished fixing my hair and my clothes after a warm bath. I changed my outfit to light black tights with a long-sleeve, pencil dark grey dress, and black ankle boots. Some may say that dark colors aren't appropriate for Christmas Eve as it is supposed to be a joyful and bright night, but except for my pastel pink clothes and a few summer dresses, all my clothes were dark in color. I didn't have many options. Either way, I didn't believe the Kims would mind it.

"Everything I have is already well accommodated around here. Even in the bathroom," I said as I adjusted the dress on my body. "Bringing it all upstairs would give me much work and the cold weather kind of drains my strength. Also, I'm the guest, I should stay where it suits me," I finished, smirking and slightly eyeing Taeyeon, who was now sitting on the bed, through the mirror.

"You should stay where it suits you? Man, are we spoiling you. I'll have to have a talk with my mother and tell her to stop pampering you."

I giggled and walked over to the bed, placing myself beside Taeyeon and cupping her cheek with one of my hands, making her look at me. "I like being pampered. And I like your mother. She's doing a great job."

It was Taeyeon's turn to chuckle. She held my hand and intertwined our fingers together, placing it on her lap. "I'm serious, Fany. Why don't you want to sleep with me in my room? We've shared a room and a bed so many times."

"Taeyeon... We're going to spend a lot of days here. If I sleep with you every night, we're going to get used to it. You know, we're going to get used to having each other's company every night. How would that turn out when we go back to Los Angeles? It might sound nonsense, but people do deeply feel the absence of someone when they get used to sleeping with them."

Taeyeon opened her mouth to speak and was about to utter a response when we heard a knock on the door that made our faces instinctively turn to it.

" _Tippany?_ " I heard Taeyeon's mother say from the outside.

I gazed at Taeyeon before turning my attention back to the still closed door. "Yes, Ms. Kim?"

" _Just wanted to let you know dinner is ready, dear. Oh, and please call Taengoo, I haven't seen her around the house for a while. We'll be waiting for the both of you_ ," she finished, and soon after I heard faint footsteps walking away.

"Okay," I said as I was sure Ms. Kim was gone. I turned my back to Taeyeon and looked at her over my shoulder, holding my hair up. "Zip it up, please."

Taeyeon took a few seconds staring at me and then eyeing my back before she did as I asked. I smiled thankfully and kissed her cheek, getting up from the bed right after and holding one of her hands. "Thank you. Let's go, I don't want to leave your parents waiting."

"We didn't finish our conversation," Taeyeon protested.

"But we shall. Later. Preferably when your stomach," I said as I pointed to her tummy and kissed her lips, giggling against them, "isn't audibly growling of hunger."

...

I was back in my room, and had just finished changing into my long, satin black pajamas.

Overwhelmed with the best feelings I had felt in months, or maybe even in years, I sat down on the bed, trying to organize my thoughts and calm down my mind. The night couldn't had been any better.

At that stage of the game, I already knew the great people the Kims were. Even if they hadn't accepted me, even if they had treated me awkwardly, I would still think they had ought to be the best people I would ever know in my life. They were everything a family was supposed to be: caring, united, loving and understanding.

And I hadn't seen such thing in years. I almost thought I didn't even know Christmas anymore, or its premise. For almost a decade, I had seen everyone spend their Christmas Eve with their families, yet I didn't have who to spend it with because my family was, well... Nothing I could really call a real family. Christmas had become a lonely holiday for me, but after years passed, I learned how to deal with it. I had gone through dark times once, when I was younger and unruly and not mature enough to keep my head held high and tell myself as I do now, "You don't need them." Many were the times I had gone to the nearest bar and gotten wasted.

Yet, there was I, in a lovely house, with a person who clearly cherished me like crazy and among these incredible people who willingly welcomed me into their family and treated me with the same care and gentleness they would treat their own children. You would expect your lover's family to be uneasy around you and judge you harshly before they got to know you, but no. It wasn't like that for me. I had hit the jackpot.

x

...

 **Flashback**

 _I was happily petting a hyperactively squirming Ginger when I felt eyes on me and tilted my face to take a look at the person that was now discreetly sitting by my side._

 _"Yes, Hayeon?" I smiled. "Do you need anything?"_

 _"Yes! Um, I mean... Yes. It's just that... I... Don't exactly know how to call you," the girl said, shyly looking down._

 _"What do you mean? You've been calling me by my name all along."_

 _"I know, but... It's a bit weird. I'm not used to calling people by their names only because we don't do that here in Korea unless we're the same age as the person we're referring to. I feel like I'm disrespecting you when I call you 'Tiffany.' Now that you are family, would you mind if I called you Tiffany unnie? Or Fany unnie?"_

 _'Now that you are family,' it echoed in my mind._

 _I smiled widely and placed my hand on top of Hayeon's, nodding gently while looking at her._

 _"As you wish."_

 **End Of Flashback**

x

...

A few tears of joy mixed with some slightly gloomy emotion streamed down my cheeks as I recalled the recent memory, but were rapidly wiped away when I heard knocking on the door and saw it open slowly.

"Ms. Kim," I cooed and smiled faintly as I watched the woman enter the room. "I thought you were already in bed, it's late."

Taeyeon's mother squinted at me before closing the door behind her, nodding. "I was just finishing putting away some things and decided to come check on you. It seems like I came in good time," she said, gently approaching me before sitting down by my side and placing one of her hands on my shoulder. "Why were you crying, child?"

I beamed her a polite smile, followed by a discreet sniff. "It's nothing, Ms. Kim. Don't worry, I'm okay."

"Oh, no," she shook her head, softly wiping away the remaining liquid on my cheeks, "people don't cry because they're okay, unless it's tears of happiness. But tears of happiness don't usually get hidden away."

"I'm happy. I swear I am. That's... That 's why I was crying. It's just that," I bit my lip and continued, almost as a whisper, "tonight was such a good night for me. Actually, a night that I thought I could never have... Again. I'm just too grateful."

"For what, my dear?"

"For being welcomed into your family," I looked up at her. "For being treated and cared for as if I were one of yours, even though you basically just met me. For that and for many other things I cannot seem to fathom into words right now. And..." my voice trailed off and I felt tears brimming in my eyes again, "I just never thought I could ever have the opportunity of feeling the presence of a motherly figure again." I let my tears fall down. "It's childish, I know, after so long... But this is the kind of pain that never goes away."

"Hush, child," the woman whispered as she took me in a embrace, which just made me cry more. "It's not childish." She hesitated a little. " _Taengoo_ told me. Don't be mad at her."

I just shook my head in response. Of course I wouldn't be mad at Taeyeon because of that.

"It's just- All of you have been doing so much for me. I've never been treated this nicely, not even by my own family since my mother was gone, Ms. Kim. We haven't been in good terms since then. I'm not used to this, I feel like I don't deserve it. I almost feel like I'm an intruder, and-"

"Hey," she called me, taking my most certainly red-nosed face in her hands and smiling tenderly. " _Tippany_ , dear, let me explain you something, something you will only understand when you have a kid, if you have one. When you're a mother, your child's happiness becomes your happiness. If they find something that makes them happy and they are willing to share that with you, you embrace it, and you turn out to appreciate it as much as they do. There's nothing more important than my girls' happiness for me. And _Taengoo_... She lives so far away from her family and is always so busy. I can cater for Hayeon, I can keep an eye on her and guarantee everything's alright, because she is still mine, she's still here with me. But I can't cater for Taeyeon anymore. Yet, my heart feels lighter at the thought that she has you now. I know that she'll be happy and safe as long as she's with you."

I sniffed and broke into a trembling smile. "You think I make Taeyeon happy?"

"I know you do," she nodded. "I see it in her eyes. That's another thing you're bound to learn if you're a mother, _Tippany_. You can read your kid," she said, chuckling slightly. "And I can feel and see that that kid is the happiest when she is with you. By the way, I think you should go see her. If I know my daughter well, and I know I do, she's probably cursing at your stubborn decision to stay in this room when you could freely be with her."

I chuckled and sniffed once again before wiping again the tears that were still insisting on falling. "Quite rebellious, isn't she?" I murmured, looking down at my legs. I remained like that for a few seconds before I eyed the older woman in front of me again and whispered as I held her hand, "Thank you. Really."

"You don't need to thank me," she said as she got up and held both of my hands, slowly pulling me up with her. "But don't forget what I told you. We already like you dearly, all of us do, even Ginger does, and this good feeling just tends to grow, _Tippany_. I know I will never replace your mother... But do keep in mind that my heart is taking you for a daughter of my own, a new daughter. Just like I know that, after this night, you've started to grow as a daughter in _Taengoo's_ father's heart too, and as a sister in Hayeon's. Just come to us. We're family now. A family you are supposed to claim as yours, too."

I pursed my lips before smiling containedly as I digested Ms. Kim's words. I thought about thanking her again, but no matter how many 'thank you's' I repeated, it would never cover my gratitude. So I just remained silent and hugged her tightly.

"Now, go," she said, fully smiling at me. "Go see _Taengoo_. Talk to her for a while, let her keep you company. You'll feel better."


	24. Family Is The Greatest Gift - Part III

**POV — Tiffany**

I knocked on Taeyeon's door a few times, but then impatiently opened it without waiting for an invitation. As I entered the ill-lit, chilly room, I spotted Taeyeon lying on her stomach on the bed, playing with an iPad that was dropped on the mattress as soon as she put her eyes on me. "Fany," she cooed, smiling happily at me while getting up.

I pushed the door closed behind me and unconsciously locked it. In quick steps, I approached the now standing Taeyeon and threw my arms around her, wrapping her in the tightest embrace I had ever given anyone. I inhaled deeply as I squeezed Taeyeon's body against my own, mustering up the courage I needed.

"I love you, Taeyeon," I whispered, with a rather shaky voice, briefly burying my face on the crook of Taeyeon's neck before looking up again, gazing at her eyes as my hand rested on the back of her head. "I really do. I know it's too soon and that I probably sound overly attached or too needy, but-"

I was silenced by Taeyeon's lips pressing against my own in a gentle, yet assertive kiss. I tittered against her lips and cupped her cheek with one of my hands as the other made its way to Taeyeon's shoulder to pull her closer, and the kiss grew deeper. I parted my lips and Taeyeon did the same, slowly sliding them against my own, and I could feel her fingertips and then the warm palms of her hands sliding all the way from the bottom of my back to the back of my shoulders as she pressed my body against hers, sending a shiver down my spine.

I placed both of my hands on Taeyeon's neck and gently stroked her skin with my thumbs as she pulled away from the kiss. She looked at me and her forehead rested on my own, her hands still on my back making sure my body wouldn't move an inch away from hers. I gazed at her lips and was ready to lean in for one more kiss when I saw them curve into a smile, making my eyes meet hers almost immediately.

"I love you too."

I smiled back at her upon hearing those words, beaming her the biggest smile I had ever given, I believed. The amount of joy I felt filling my body was indescribable.

I was about to open my mouth to say something when I felt Taeyeon's hands firmly holding my waist and turning my body so that my back was facing her bed. Whatever I was going to say choked in my throat as I closed my eyes upon feeling Taeyeon's lips touch my neck while her hands traveled to my belly and then slowly made their way up to the collar of my pajama shirt. Her fingertips slid through the fabric and reached its buttons, skillfully opening them as her lips kept working on my neck, nibbling on, licking, and kissing it softly.

Before I knew, my shirt had been fully opened and Taeyeon's hands were once again traveling up to my upper body, her fingertips brushing against my chest and then my shoulders and arms as she took off my shirt not too fast, yet not too slowly either. Just enough to make me feel aroused and rather dizzy. I placed my hands on her back and pulled her closer albeit our bodies were already almost one, and felt her hot breath tickle my right ear.

"Let me show you how much," I heard Taeyeon whisper, and soon after I found myself lying on the bed below her. I opened my eyes to find Taeyeon's flaring at me, making me feel like I was burning from the inside out. Facing an utter lost of words, I pulled her in for another kiss, that was returned in a heartbeat. Taeyeon positioned herself on top of me and her hands went back to probing my skin, stroking, squeezing, and caressing it repeatedly. I parted my lips and welcomed Taeyeon's tongue inside my mouth with my own as the kiss deepened, and slightly lifted my hips when I noticed her trying to pull down my pants. As she did so, I felt my underwear being pulled alongside, and kicked the clothes out of the bed as they reached my ankles.

Once Taeyeon pulled away from the kiss, I began to undress her right away. I could already feel every cell of my body yearning for her and for her touch. But it wasn't only about desireㅡit was about the connection our bodies were having at that moment, it was about the feelings we were sharing and definitely about the moment that ensued what we were doing. I needed more of that, I needed more of everything. I needed much more of her, and I didn't think I had ever wanted something so badly.

I pulled the oversized tee off first, then moved to her pants and her underwear, tossing each piece of clothing to a different direction. The feeling of her hands tracing my back with a little difficulty made me arch my torso a bit, making it easier for Taeyeon to unclasp my bra as she came back to kissing me. I did the same to her own and then our bodies were tightly pressed against each other again, which made me let out a small and faint moan against her lips that were kissing me hungrily. My hand rested on her head and I tangled my fingers into her hair, pulling it gently as I felt like I couldn't clasp her any further.

She was the one to break the kiss once again, trailing some more wet and burning kisses down my neck and my chest as she calmly adjusted her position on top of me. I could feel her fastened and slightly heavy breath tickle my skin every time her lips would touch it. One of her hands were placed on my waist, holding it tightly as it helped her support herself, and the other kept making its way up and down my whole body. Taeyeon's hand reached, stroked and squeezed my thigh at the same time her lips touched one of my breasts as she began licking and sucking it gently. My fingers gently grabbed her hair once again as I let out a breathy moan, my eyes half-closed and my body heating up more and more each second. She then moved on to my other breast and engulfed it with her mouth, slowly sliding her tongue against the soft skin while eagerly sliding her hands to my inner thigh, her fingers not long after touching my sex. The sensation of her fingertips sliding against and caressing it in an unconceivable sensual way made me bite my lips with force. I placed my hands on Taeyeon's back and squeezed it tightly, almost holding her skin with my nails. I sighed heavily when her lips met my neck once again, now kissing and licking it fervorously. My eyes rolled back when two of Taeyeon's fingers entered me, and I lost track of time and notion of everything right then and there.

From that moment onwards, I couldn't concentrate on anything but the pleasure that was taking control over my body. It was a constant increase of my loud yet irregular moaning mixed with heavy breathing coming out from the both of us as fingers kept pumping gently and then faster, deeper and intensely while Taeyeon's free hand, fingertips, lips and tongue caressed my skin in different ways and I dragged my fingers and nails against hers, in sloppy attempts to feel her even closer to me. There wasn't a single bit of my being that wasn't completely handed to Taeyeon in that moment. The feeling was overwhelming, more delightful than anything I had ever felt, and I knew it was all because of her.

I buckled my hips as she sped up her pace, and I could feel my whole body burning and sticky, and small droplets of sweat forming on my forehead, neck, and chest. Taeyeon's fingers came in deeper as her thumb rubbed me skillfully, and it wasn't until I let out a loud moan that I felt my dry throat hurting lightly as I collapsed on the bed. My body went all numb, my legs wobbly, and a long, heavy sigh escaped my lips in delight. I kept my eyes closed, and my head felt like it was spinning around. I was lying bare on the bed, my body still because of its drained strength, yet I couldn't feel any kind of cold.

I opened my eyes as I felt a pair of lips press against my cheek in the sweetest of the ways and a body lay down beside mine. Catching my breath and making it steadier, I looked at a smiling Taeyeon that had her face resting close to my shoulder. I smiled back at her and turned my body to hers, tiredly, as I adjusted myself on the bed.

Taeyeon welcomed me as she opened one of her arms, pulling me closer and pulling the blanket above us afterwards. I loosely cupped her cheek with my hand and placed a chaste kiss on her lips that was readily returned. For that moment, I didn't know what to say. So I didn't say anything, and neither did she. We just kept looking at each other, and Taeyeon helped me stabilize myself by gently running her fingers through my hair.

A few minutes later, with my body fully recovered from the devastating bliss it had been filled with, I looked up to Taeyeon. My face by then was resting on her chest, and as I looked at her, I met a calm countenance that almost glowed under the dim light of the room. I approached my face to hers and started kissing all over it: from her lips, to her nose, to her eyelids and forehead and then back at her lips, down to her chin, jawline and neck.

She sighed, and I advanced further. My hands carefully held her shoulders as I adjusted her position on the bed and placed my body on top of hers. I pressed my lips against her own once more before slightly withdrawing my face to take a better look at Taeyeon.

"What?" Taeyeon cooed, smiling gently, looking right back at me.

I smiled back.

"Shall I return the favor?"

I woke up the next morning feeling cold and clumsily pattering around the bed in a lazy attempt to find more blankets to wrap around my body. I furrowed my brows as I did so, still tired and half-asleep, frustrated because I couldn't find anything. Instead of touching a blanket, my hand touched something that instantly held it and brought it upwards before I felt a pair of lips kissing its back.

"Good morning," I heard Taeyeon's voice tell me, almost as a whisper, and I could almost _hear_ her cheesy smile.

I opened my eyes lazily and gazed up with some difficulty, once half of the window was open and the sunlight was filtering through it. My eyes met a cozily positioned Taeyeon, who was holding a book that was now being closed and carefully placed on her lap. I watched as she took off the glasses I didn't even know she wore, and welcomed me with inviting arms and a warm smile.

"Why do you have a sleeping robe on and I don't?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

Taeyeon chuckled. "Because I woke up and got dressed. I thought about lending you one, but I didn't want to wake you up," she said, laying down by my side and wrapping her arms around my waist before placing a gently kiss on my temple. "Sorry."

I smiled and shook my head. "It's okay. What time is it?"

"Half past eleven."

"Already?!" I said, stroking Taeyeon's cheek with my fingers. I yawned before continuing, "Why is everything so quiet then? Your parents are always up early and busy with something around here..."

"They aren't home," Taeyeon smiled, pressing her lips against my own. "Hayeon dragged them out. I woke up to a message on my phone saying so."

"Where did they go?"

Taeyeon shook her head. "I don't know. Hayeon didn't say."

I nodded slightly and there was a brief moment of silence. Taeyeon closed her eyes and kissed my forehead before pulling me closer into her embrace.

"Taeyeon?"

"Hm?" she hummed, looking down at me.

"Does that mean we can have brunch in robes? I'm starving but too lazy to get properly dressed."

Taeyeon laughed out loud and agreed, dragging me out of bed and getting me another robe of hers, and I adjusted it to my body as we both made our way down to the kitchen.

The day passed by in the most delightful way it could have. Taeyeon and I stuck together throughout it all, and actually had most of it all for ourselves, as her parents and her sister only returned by the evening. We didn't bother to change or to take a shower until then, and just enjoyed our time together.

We did it one more time, and I believe it was only once more because our bodies were still quite tired from the night before. At some point of our afternoon, Taeyeon said we should start practicing more often, so that our bodies would get used to it, like when people start practicing new exercises, and we would develop and improve our stamina.

I wanted to scold her for saying that, but it was just too amusing for me to see Taeyeon unveiling her pervert and cheeky, dorky side. I could only laugh.

It was dinner time, and we were all sitting at the table, chatting cheerfully now and then. Suddenly, my meal was interrupted by a phone call, and I excused myself to answer it.

It was from an unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered, once I was far enough from the table not to be impolite.

" _Tiffany?_ "

It took me a minute to recognize the voice I was speaking to.

"Mr. Cox?"

" _Yes, darling, it's Martin._ "

'What in the world...?' I thought.

"Hey. Um... How can I help you?"

"Yeah, you see... I'm sorry for calling you on your personal cell. I called your manager first but she said she wasn't with you, and I needed to speak to you directly, so she texted me your phone number. Can we meet?"

"Actually, Mr. Cox... I, uh... Indeed, I'm nowhere near Sooyoung, I'm actually in... Korea. I'm with Taeyeon in Korea. Whatever it is... Can't this be discussed later? Is it too important?"

The man sighed.

" _It's urgent, actually_."

I was starting to get worried.

"Do you want me to call Taeyeon?"

" _No, no. Listen... Again, I'm sorry for being inconvenient, you two are probably on a little vacation, but I really need to talk to you. To both of you. Can we make an online call? On Skype? I can't talk to you over the phone. This is really important._ "

"Now?"

" _As soon as possible, dear. Call me back when you're ready, all right? I'll be waiting. But please remember this is important. I'm very, very sorry. Bye._ "

I sighed nervously as I stared at the phone as soon as the call ended. Martin sounded dreadfully anxious. What could have happened to make the always cheerful Martin Cox act like that?

"Taeyeon?" I called as I approached the table once more. Taeyeon's face, and all the other faces, turned to me.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

Taeyeon put her chopsticks down slowly, eyeing me worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"That I want to know too," I said, in between an anxious sigh. "Martin called me. It looks like... He has something really important to tell us and he insists on doing it now."

I watched Taeyeon's half shocked, half worried face as she furrowed her eyebrows, leaned back on her seat and nodded before getting up.


	25. Mismatch

POV — Tiffany

Taeyeon and I borrowed Hayeon's laptop and made our way up to Taeyeon's room not long after I told her about Martin's call.

We sat on Taeyeon's bed and opened the laptop, placing it carefully on the mattress and adjusting its screen. I texted Martin saying we were available and only waiting for him. It barely took him two minutes to add us on Skype and initiate the call that we willingly, yet nervously answered.

"Hello, girls," Martin said, waving to the webcam.

"Hey," we answered.

"Listen, girls... I, uh..." the man made a brief pause, massaging his temples with both of his hands before wringing them together in front of his face, "I don't think there's a way to drop the news lightly nor to sugarcoat anything, so, um... Let's just get right down to brass tacks, all right?"

"What happened to the movie?" Taeyeon asked in a serious tone, veering my attention to herself. "Has its premiere been delayed? Or maybe it's just some homophobic douchebag that deems the film inappropriate or something?"

"Taeyeon, it- Taeyeon, Tiffany," Martin began, then paused once again. "The editorial crew lost half of the movie's footage."

A dreadful silence fell upon us. I couldn't believe my ears.

"Lost data? In Hollywood?!" I scoffed, shaking my head in denial. "Impossible."

"I know, I know." Martin sighed defeatedly once again, running his hand through his hair. "This is really fucked up, pardon my French. I don't know exactly how that happened, it looks like the film editor messed up during the editing process and accidentally deleted a massive part of the film's footage, I just... I just got the news yesterday morning. After the bomb was dropped... The producer quit. I took his position, though. I don't know how in the world I'm going to do this, but it seems I'm both the producer and the director now. And since then I've been talking to everyone involved in the movie, to all the important people, trying to fix this and that, trying to find a way to clean up this mess and to fix everything. I don't even know who did this, precisely. The movie is just gone, it's just... It's all screwed up, girls. I'm so sorry."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know whether I was feeling outraged and extremely offended due to these people's blatant irresponsibility and indifference towards our hard work, plain sad knowing that it had all been lost or terrified because I didn't know what would come next.

"I... I don't..." I tried to speak, but my words were caught in my throat. I was downright baffled. "What now?"

I watched Martin open his mouth to speak on the computer screen, but before he could say a word, I heard a different voice.

"You mean all of the efforts we had put into this movie for months were just downgrade d and that our work was carelessly handled leading to its basically being thrown away?!" Taeyeon hissed, her teeth gritted.

"I know how it sounds like, but there's a way we can fix this, Taeyeon. I just-" Martin responded, but was interrupted once again.

"FIX THIS, MARTIN?" Taeyeon raised her voice. "How can we fix a movie that is missing half of its story? Of its footage? What in the bloody hell?!"

"Taeyeon, please," I muttered, touching her arm.

"Honestly, Tiffany?" she turned to me. "Are you really that calm? A whole movie has been wasted and you're all chill? Are you high or something?"

"Just let him speak!" I exclaimed, struggling to contain the annoyance I felt forming inside of me as I witnessed the scene Taeyeon was making in front of Mr. Cox. She kept staring at me, her eyes burning with rage, until Martin's voice drew our attention back to the laptop's screen.

"There is a way to fix this, in fact," he said, nodding. "We re-shoot it." He looked directly at the camera, as if he were trying to look us in the eyes. "It is for sure going to delay its original premiere schedule, we'll need at least four to six months to shoot it entirely once again, especially when there's going to be a new script and-"

"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted him, raising one of my hands. "New script?"

He nodded once again. "Once I contacted the writer... She said a new script was going to be written. The center of the story will remain Ella and Leah's relationship, though. That's all I know for now. The new script should be handed in a week, I think."

I took a few seconds to digest everything. A new script would mean new lines to memorize, a new story to adapt to and God knows what other changes. And I was terrified of those changes. The story was already great, why would they want to modify it?

"Martin, this-"

"This is going to screw up all of our plans for the entire year, Mr. Cox," Taeyeon cut me in, still speaking angrily as if she were about to jump on the device's neck, if it had any. "Tiffany and I have both received new scrips, new proposals. Projects we've been studying and considering. I myself have been considering two already. I was ready to make next year a very, very busy and productive one, and I was looking forward to it."

"I know, Taeyeon, I know. That's why I'm here now with the both of you. Girls, listen," the man said gently as he adjusted himself on his seat, clasping his hands together once more, "this movie is yours, and yours only, okay? I want you, Tiffany, as my Ella, and you, Taeyeon, as my Leah. If that doesn't happen, I will cancel the movie, the whole production will stop, and we're all just going to move on. But I must say that would be a shame. Never have I produced or directed any film that would ensue the commotion this one did when it was announced, especially after your names were linked to it. Broken or not, refilmed or not, many people look forward to this movie, girls. And believe me, these people will wait for it."

Taeyeon and I remained quiet. Taeyeon kept a straight, slightly angered face, and folded her arms, while I, on the other hand, nodded politely, gesturing Mr. Cox to continue.

"I know this affects and halts your plans. It harms my plans too. But I definitely am not willing to give up on this. I know this film's potential, I feel it. And I've seen you two on set, I've watched your scenes repeatedly and you've got to believe me when I say that what you two have on screen together is something many actors yearn for, something even the most talented ones can't fake or act. This story is not going to be properly told if it's not told by the two of you. Together. And not only I am passionate about this, you know. Everyone in the crew... Everyone loved working with us the first time, and they are willing to do it again. So I'm here asking, almost begging you two to tag along."

I looked at Taeyeon and stuck with my silence for a couple of minutes.

He was right. Taeyeon was right too. Taking four to six months of the upcoming year to re-shoot an entire movie, especially with a script we hadn't even taken the smallest look at yet, would damage a lot of other plans we had. Both of us would have to refuse some offers, put on ice interesting upcoming projects, and I myself would have to give up on auditioning for roles I had been yearning to get.

But I thought, wasn't it all worth it the first time?

Why wouldn't it be worth it now?

And what if it were even better than the first time?

"Fine," I agreed, nodding and looking back at the laptop's screen. "When do you need us?"

"'Fine?!'" Taeyeon exclaimed, startling me a little. I looked at her and beckoned her to stay quiet, mouthing a 'we'll talk later.'

"Oh, thank heavens!" Martin cried out, relieved. "As soon as possible. I need to meet with you personally, just like we did months ago. If you could come back before new years... It would be great. I'm sorry for this but oh, boy... I'm so thankful you two agreed on this."

"It's okay," I said softly, smiling lopsidedly. "We just, uh... We need some time to talk, all right? We'll be there before new years, don't worry. Oh, and Merry Christmas, Martin."

"Merry Christmas, girls."

And with that, the call was finished. I closed the laptop.

"Are you completely out of your mind, Tiffany?!" Taeyeon almost shouted at me, getting up from the bed.

"Why are you talking to me like that?" I asked, frowning, finding it hard to recognize Taeyeon's behavior.

"'WE' are going to be there? I don't remember agreeing on this. This is insane, this is just... This is bullshit."

"So... You don't want to do it?" I asked, slightly taken aback.

"I didn't say that."

I folded my arms, shaking my head in disbelief. "I don't think you even have to, Taeyeon."

"It's not that I don't WANT to do it! It's just that I think this is unconceivably unfair to us! We'll have to give up on other projects, interesting projects... And it's just... It is awful to feel as if your work had been belittled, that's all. I'm pissed off, okay? I'm not sure I want to do this, I'm not sure I'm even mentally and emotionally capable of doing this."

I stared at Taeyeon for a moment. I couldn't believe those words were coming out of her mouth so coldly and nonchalantly.

"I thought we were in this together," I muttered.

"We are." Taeyeon made a small pause. "That's why I think you should give up on this too."

"So you are officially neglecting the movie?"

"I didn't say I-"

"Taeyeon, don't you realize how plain childish you're being?" I got up too. "You heard Martin, didn't you? You heard him when he said a lot of people are counting on this project, counting on me and on YOU, miss," I pointed a finger at her face, "to bring this story to life, you heard him when he said he'll just drop everything if we don't go for it! More than that, you know how our fans are expecting this, Taeyeon, you know it! You know how many freaking people want this. Are you really willing to let everyone down because a godforsaken accident happened? We've poured so much of our hearts into this the first time, why can't we do it again? Because you don't want to give up on new projects, so you'd rather back up? Are you even serious here, Taeyeon?! HOW SELFISH IS THAT?" I inquired, raising my voice slightly. "Is that what you always do? You back up and relinquish when facing the very first obstacle that comes your way?"

Taeyeon frowned angrily. "I'VE GIVEN YOU MY REASONS, ALL RIGHT?" She shouted, making me take a small step back in shock. "And, mind you, they seem pretty valid for me. It's not like I'm freaking obliged to do this! What if I'm being a little selfish, huh? Do you blame me for wanting to do something else? For wanting to try different things? And if you really want to do this so much, why don't you just go by yourself?!"

Taeyeon's words striked me like a thousand knives, and I wondered how could such a great day like the one we had had crumble so quickly and come to that. I was angered by Taeyeon's childishness, but deeply hurt by what she had just said.

I felt tears brimming in my eyes, and I struggled not to let them fall. I looked down for a moment and briefly nodded.

"Fine. You're right," I said, looking up and meeting Taeyeon's eyes once again. "You know what, Taeyeon?" I started, crossing my arms and taking a few steps towards her, "Just like Martin, I don't want to give up on this. I do think the movie has a great potential. Especially now that it's going to have a new script, who knows the improvements that can be made. I want to do this, I really, really do. I want to do this for the people who are looking forward to it, I want to do this for Martin, and I want to do this for me as an actress. I just..." my voice cracked, and I bit my lower lip in a failed attempt to hold back the tears that were quickly streaming down my cheeks, "I just didn't want to do this without you. Hell, I never thought I would have to."

I stood there, face to face in front of Taeyeon, but the latter didn't say a word. She would just look at me, albeit avoiding my eyes. I merely nodded sadly.

"But since you insist," I muttered before quickly making my way to the door.

"Tiffany, wait, I-"

"Can I just say one last thing, Taeyeon?" I said, turning my head and facing her again as my right hand held the door open, "This might sound silly to you, but... I've lost so many people. And I've been left alone many, many times. You know that, don't you? I've told you about that. I've told you about how not even my family stuck by my side when I needed. Everyone in my life so far, except for Sunny, has abandoned me in a way or another. Family, friends. Everyone. And I'm not saying I lost you, but... I just never thought you'd abandon me too. Which you are doing now. I just never thought that would hapen."

"Tiffany, really, just let me-" I heard Taeyeon say behind my back as she approached in quick steps, but I closed the door abruptly and rushed down the stairs before she could reach me. As I ran to the room Ms. Kim had provided me, I couldn't hold my tears back anymore.

It was already past 1a.m., and my eyes were sore and swollen from all the crying.

Taeyeon hadn't come after me. Hitherto, I hadn't heard a single knock on the door. She didn't stop me when I was leaving her room, and she hadn't come check on me since then. That was just another stab in the heart for me.

I was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. My luggage was placed on the bed that I was lying on and clothes were scattered all over the room. I had just booked a ticked to a last-minute flight back to Los Angeles that would take off at noon, and I was trying to get started with my packing. Unfortunately, I was too disheartened to even do that properly. So I just laid there, still, and told myself I would just throw everything in my suitcase in the morning. Who cares?

My rushing thoughts were interrupted by a couple of knocks in the door. My heart pounded a bit in excitement because, for a moment, I was hopeful it was Taeyeon, and that she was going to tell me she was sorry and she is coming with me. But I, sadly, didn't hear velvet-like voice cooing my name, asking me to let her in, so I soon assumed it wasn't her. I was disappointed once again, but also embarrassed for making a fool of myself by getting my hopes up when, deep inside, I knew that nothing could really change Taeyeon's mind once she decided to throw one of her temper tantrums.

The knob turned, but I had locked the door, which halted the person's entrance. I sighed heavily and got up. On my way, I wiped my cheeks once to make sure no tear was left there, afraid to find Ms. Kim behind the door. I didn't want to burden her with something as silly and plain stupid as what was happening. I reached the door and unlocked it, opening it carefully.

"Oh, unnie?! What are you doing here? I thought you were with Taeyeon unnie in her room," Hayeon said, politely entering the room as she carried a pillow and eyed me.

"Hayeon... Why are you up this late?" I tried to put a smile on.

"My window broke and it's unbearably cold in my room, so I thought this one would be empty and decided to come sleep here. Wait," Hayeon looked around the room, gazing carefully at my clothes and at the open pink suitcase on the bed, "you're leaving?!" she asked, looking back at me, blanching for a moment.

"I... Yeah. I have to."

"But why? Is Taeyeon unnie going with you? Why isn't she here helping you pack?"

"No, Hayeon..." I sighed and closed the door, making my way to the bed and sitting on it. "I'm going alone. Taeyeon doesn't want to come with me."

She stared at me, befuddled.

"I'm sorry?!"

I patted the empty spot beside me as I looked at the young girl, and the latter nodded before placing herself by my side. "There's been some... Issues regarding our movie. Turns out that we have to re-shoot it, but Taeyeon doesn't want to. So she... She told me I should go alone. I've already booked my ticket, I'm leaving by the morning and my flight takes off at noon. I won't leave without talking to your parents first, of course."

Hayeon's face grew even paler in shock. Her eyes expressed confusion and sadness, and I felt awful to have to share such news with her. I knew it would shatter the dream she was probably living in, having her sister and me with her.

"Unnie... Don't... Don't go, please? Maybe Taeyeon unnie didn't mean that! Maybe she said that in the heat of the moment, maybe she wants to go with you! Isn't she supposed to be in the movie too? How are you going to do this without her?"

I looked at the girl as I smiled and chortled sadly. I looked down as I shook my head. "I don't know." I made a pause, taking a deep breath. "I don't want to. But I think your sister has made up her mind, Hayeon. You know how she can be, you know it even better than I do." I looked up at Hayeon again and the latter was furrowing her eyebrows, frowning in annoyance and frustration.

"I don't want you to go! You're still my idol! I don't want my idol to leave my house!" she protested, childishly, as she folded her arms. I found it quite amusing, and couldn't contain a small chuckle.

"If it depends on me, this won't change a thing between your sister and me. I mean, aside from the fact that we won't be work colleagues anymore. We'll see each other again, Hayeon. You don't need to be so sad."

"But you are sad, aren't you?"

I smiled a bit and averted the young girl's gaze. "I'll be fine."

"You are sad. Taeyeon unnie is so darn doomed, I swear to God," I heard Hayeon mutter under her breath.

I chuckled once again. "Don't meddle, Hayeon. She'll take out on you."

"Oh, no, I won't. I won't meddle. This is between the two of you. I'm just... Torching something of hers. I'll find something she holds dear in the house and threaten to set it on fire if she doesn't get her shit together," the girl said, shrugging.

I couldn't hold in my laughter when Hayeon said that so nonchalantly.

"What?" Hayeon laughed along. "Seriously, though. Taeyeon unnie does need a wake up call sometimes. Don't be afraid to give her one if you ever need to. I mean, I am the one who's going through that age when you want to rage at everything and everyone and your hormones are all over the place making you go crazy, yet I can behave and use my common sense better than her in certain situations! She's just off limits, so I have to use something shocking against her. If that means setting her room on fire, that's fine by me. I would be grounded for the rest of my life, but unnie would get the message."

I smiled at the young girl. "Everything will be fine, believe me. Just don't set the room on fire, okay?" Hayeon nodded. "I'm already feeling better. Thank you, Hayeon. But you should go to sleep now, it's late. You can take the room, I'll put away my stuff and I can perfectly sleep on the couch."

"What are you, crazy?!" Hayeon remarked. I was surprised to hear her talking to me like that, but I found her actions amusing once again. "Guests, especially the ones from Hollywood that I really like, don't just come to our place and sleep on the couch. You can keep your room, I'll sleep on the couch. I'll just grab some blankets back in my room."

"Hayeon, you really don't need to do that. I doubt I'll even sleep tonight. Just stay here, I don't mind."

The girl shook her head. "I'm taking care of you for Taeyeon unnie. If she founds out I let you sleep on a couch, she'll grill my butt. I'll be fine," she said as she grabbed her pillow and made her way to the door, stopping in front of it as her free hand turned the knob and her eyes found me. "Will you?"

I smiled and nodded. "Aye, aye, captain!"

She chuckled energetically and waved at me, wishing me a good night. As the door closed behind her back, my smile slowly faded away, and my body collapsed against the bed again.

Will I?


	26. Moving On

POV — Tiffany

I sighed as I placed my luggage on the ground and stood in front of the Kims' house waiting for Ms. Kim to close the front door behind her. I needed to head to the airport, and the woman offered to take me after I had explained everything to her. I was grateful, and knowing I would have some company in my way there made my heart feel a bit lighter and warmer, although it didn't really change the fact that I was feeling miserable because I was leaving without even seeing Taeyeon's face.

I didn't even know when I'd see her again after that.

"Tippany, dear," the woman began, slightly embarrassed, as she approached me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "are you sure it must be like this?"

"She didn't even talk to me, Ms. Kim," I mumbled. "She didn't even leave her room all morning."

"She could be sleeping..."

"She's probably not, umma," Hayeon, who was tagging along and supporting her body on one of my suitcases, butted in, halting me from responding. "She's just being the hellbitch she is when something doesn't go her way."

"Don't talk about her like that, Hayeon..." I cooed. The girl merely nodded apologetically. "She's probably mad at me. I understand, I did say some harsh stuff to her last night." I sighed again. "Anyway, I'm sorry I must leave like this, Ms. Kim," I looked at the woman as the three of us made our way to the car. "But I have no choice. Taeyeon may not be willing to do this, but I am. And so I need to go now. I wish I could stay more, but..."

Taeyeon's mother beamed me an understanding smile and nodded gently as she helped me place my luggage in the car. I took the passenger seat, Hayeon took the back one, and we both waited quietly for the older woman to enter the car.

"I understand," she said as she closed the driver's door. "I'm just sorry the two of you are going to part ways like that."

Part ways?!

"What? No," I responded, shaking my head. "No, we're not parting ways. Not if depends on me. This is just a silly argument, our first argument... And it doesn't-" I stopped for a second before continuing, feeling my cheeks warm up a bit, "it doesn't change the fact that I love Taeyeon. I'm not giving up on her. We're just... Going to be away from each other for now. But we'll make up, you'll see," I put on my best hopeful smile for the woman.

I couldn't say I wasn't hurt. I couldn't say it didn't hurt to hear Taeyeon tell me to leave by myself. I couldn't say her selfishness and childishness weren't painful to witness. I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed and a tad disheartened because she didn't go after me. But I was so tired of losing the people I loved that I, despite the pain, promised myself I wouldn't hold any kind of grunge against her. I didn't want to go any further with that argument, I didn't want to be mad or sad because of Taeyeon. I wanted to be with her. I was ready to forgive her and to give her all my free time and love once again. I just needed her to come after me.

I just needed her to show me she missed me as much as I already missed her.

"Then I hope you make up soon," Ms. Kim smiled once again as she started the car and drove off. "Let's go."

I nodded thankfully and looked back at Hayeon, who was listening to us attentively. I gave her a small reassuring smile, which she returned.

"Thank you so, so much, Ms. Kim," I breathed out, as I hugged the woman tightly. "For everything. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, Tippany." She let go of the hug to look at me, taking my face in her hands affectionately. "Come visit us, okay? Whenever you feel like traveling or if you need some family time, come visit us. We've already gotten used to your presence, it feels like we've known you forever," she chuckled. "So do drop by. You'll always be welcome."

I could feel a comforting warmth growing in my heart upon hearing the woman's kind words, and I beamed her my best smile. An utterly sincere one, this time.

I was about to talk again when I heard a sniff.

"Oh, no. No no," I said when I noticed Hayeon crying discreetly behind her mother. I let go of the woman and crouched down a little in front of the girl. Short and petite like her sister, I thought. "Don't cry. Why are you crying?"

"I don't want you to go," Hayeon murmured sadly and wrapped her arms around me. "I want you to stay. I don't know when I'll see you again. I know I'm being childish and selfish like unnie but I really don't want you to go."

I felt sorry for her.

"I wish I could stay, too," I looked at her, smiling faintly. "But I need to go. I'll see you again, Hayeon. Don't worry. And when our schedules match... Taeyeon and I can even spend some days with you back in California and take you to some fun places. What do you think about that?" I tried to smile more brightly to encourage the girl to feel better.

"You would do that?" she asked as her eyes lit up a bit.

"Of course," I nodded and wiped away her tears. "So let's plan that in advance. When we're all free, you, me, and Taeyeon can hang out together. We'll take you to Downtown Disney, and I can take you to my place so you can meet Prince and play with him. You know about Prince, don't you?"

The girl nodded cheerfully, finally stopping to cry. "I do. Cutest dog in the world, right?" she asked, referring to one of the hashtags I tend to use when I post pictures of Prince on instagram.

"Yeah, cutest dog in the world." I chuckled and got up. "So don't be sad, okay? And... Promise to take care of your sister for me."

Hayeon hesitated a little, but ended up nodding once more. "I will." She took a moment before she gave me one last hug. "Have a safe flight, unnie."

I smiled sadly and placed one of my hands on the girl's head before she let go and I turned to Ms. Kim to say goodbye one last time.

POV — Taeyeon

I hadn't closed my eyes for a second during the night. I managed to take a quick nap during the morning, but that was it. I felt like my energies were completely drained, and it wasn't even because of the sleep deprivation. It was because I was emotionally and mentally exhausted.

The words Tiffany and I had exchanged last night kept echoing inside of my head. I felt angered for being accused of being childish and selfish-which I was, indeed; but my stupid ego and godforsaken pride wouldn't let me admit it in front of Tiffany, guilty because I let her go, didn't chase her when she left my room and hadn't spoken to her ever since...

And sad and very lonely because she wasn't there with me.

I checked my phone and decided to get up when I saw the clock marking 15 to 1p.m. I sighed as I lazily dragged by body out of the bed. I wanted to talk to Tiffany, and I wanted to apologize. I wanted to tell her that I was stupid and we could work everything out together.

I just didn't know how to do that.

When I reached the door and opened it, I was surprised by a figure who apparently was about to turn the knob open and enter the room.

"Oh. Going somewhere?"

I snorted. "Hayeon, not now... I really... I don't feel very well, okay? Let me pass."

"Where are you going?" Hayeon asked, folding her arms and blocking my way.

"I want to talk to Tiffany, damn it. Let me pass!" I uttered in annoyance as I kept trying to walk away from my sister.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid you can't do that."

"What? Come on, Hayeon, work with me here. Stop wasting my time, I NEED to talk to Tiffany. Why wouldn't I be able to do that?"

"Because Tiffany unnie is not here."

I stopped in my tracks.

Could she...?

No. No. Please, no.

"... What?"

"I said Tiffany unnie is not here," Hayeon repeated as she pushed me, though not roughly, back inside the room and closed the door behind her as we both entered.

"Where is she?" was all I could voice.

"Right now? Probably already heading back to Los Angeles."

My whole body froze when Hayeon said those words.

I took a few steps back and sat on the edge of my bed, trying to steady myself.

"She left?" I muttered, feeling my eyes water. "Just like that?"

"Wasn't that what you told her to do, unnie?"

"I didn't mean it... It was..." I tried to speak, but choked on the tears that were already falling. I brought my knees up and hugged my legs. "It was in the heat of the moment. I didn't want her to go, I'd never want her to go. Why did you let her go?!" I cried out.

Hayeon scoffed, incredulous. "Now you're blaming it on me? What could I have done, unnie?" She shook her head.

"I DON'T KNOW!" I exclaimed, crying harder. "You could've told her not to! You could've talked her into staying here with us! With me!"

"STOP YELLING AT ME!" Hayeon retorted and I watched as she approached me in quick steps. "Stop crying too. Crying won't help in anything. Tiffany unnie is gone, she's going back to the U.S. and your tears won't change that. So woman up and do something to fix your attitudes, unnie."

I kept opening and closing my mouth repeatedly, trying to find something to say, but in the end I would just spill more tears and stare at Hayeon defeatedly.

"Really, what is your problem?" Hayeon said, placing herself beside me on the bed. "Your girlfriend has left while you're in bad terms with her, and all you do is cry and complain your younger sister didn't try to stop her? Worse, this all happened because you didn't want to refilm a movie? How old are you, unnie, 5?"

"Don't call me childish," I hissed.

"Honestly? Is that all you care about right now?" Hayeon eyed me as if she were judging me harshly.

"I don't like to be called childish!"

"AND I DON'T LIKE TO THINK THAT TIFFANY HWANG LEFT OUR HOUSE BECAUSE YOU WERE A JACKASS," Hayeon retorted angrily.

I felt more tears aggressively streaming down again. "Oh God, Tiffany," I uttered as I hugged my legs even more tight and buried my face in my knees.

"For the last time," I didn't see it, but I knew Hayeon had rolled her eyes saying, "stop. Crying. It won't do you any good. Get your butt out of this bed and do something, for God sake. Just do something. Call her, text her, I don't care." I felt the mattress shift and looked up to see my sister walking away. She, however, stopped in the middle of her way to the door and looked at me again. "Just, really, do something. Unnie, she... She loves you so much. She told me what happened, you know. Last night, I thought she was sleeping here with you so I went downstairs intending to sleep on the room she was in because I couldn't sleep on mine doing to some circumstances. I was shocked to find her packing her bags when I entered the room. So I asked her what was going on and she told me about your fight, about what led you two to argue. And then earlier today I overheard her talking with umma about it. You're probably wondering why I'm here and how do I know what I'm talking about. This is it."

"What... What did she say?" I asked quietly.

"Not much," Hayeon shrugged, folding her arms once again. "Just enough to get the gist of it and to understand how much of a jerk you were last night. But you know what, unnie?"

"What?"

"Despite that, despite your bad attitude... She's willing to forgive you without second thought. I went with umma take her to the airport this morning, you know. And her and Tiffany unnie talked in the car. She was visibly, yet she kept saying things such as, 'We'll make up soon,' and she even made plans with me and included you right away. She was sad yet she was trying to thing positively because she wanted to be with you. She said she wouldn't give up on you. How can you hurt someone like that?!"

I was unable to say a thing. I just kept crying, more and more, and let Hayeon speak. Her words felt like a thousand knives piercing my whole body and I wanted to scream, I wanted to tell Hayeon to stop torturing me and to leave me alone, but at the same time I wanted to hear what she had to say. I knew I needed to hear what she had to say.

"So, honestly, unnie, the only thing stopping you and Tiffany unnie from being back together is you. So, I'm sorry, but get your shit together and figure out a way to apologize. The flight from Seoul to LA is long, you know that, so take that time to think about something. Wait some hours and talk to her somehow. She doesn't deserve the pain, but I think you know that better than I do."

I listened to Hayeon's words and nodded faintly, burying my face in my knees once again. I heard a tired sigh followed by footsteps, and soon after I felt a weight being laid on the mattress behind me and a pair of arms embrace me. Hayeon hugged me tightly, resting her face on my back.

"Why are you so hard-headed, babo?" she whispered.

"You didn't-" I hiccuped as I wept relentlessly, "you didn't need to be so harsh on me," I managed to say. "I know I was stupid, but..."

Hayeon let go of me and gently held my arms afterwards. I adjusted my position and turned my body to face her as I ran my hands through my messy her, trying to calm down.

"Trust me," Hayeon began as she wiped my jumpy and overflowing tears away with her thumbs and smiled vaguely, "you'll thank me later."


	27. A New Beginning

POV — Tiffany

I woke up to the sound of Prince's loud and agitated barks. I shifted on the couch, groaning frustratedly as I tried to find a more comfortable position.

"Be quiet, Prince," I mumbled. "You're going to make my head explode."

"What in the world..." I heard a different voice coming from the front door. "What the hell? TIFF?!"

If my eyes were open, I would've rolled them. With difficulty, I sat up and lazily opened my sore eyes, and Sunny's blurred image appeared in front of me.

"Hi, Sunshine." I smiled sloppily.

"What the heck are you doing here, Tiff?!" Sunny cried out.

"Ugh," I grumbled as I placed a palm on my forehead and closed my eyes once again. "Please don't scream. My head hurts. Shouldn't I be the one making that question?"

"I'm here for Prince. I come here every day to check on him and make sure everything's in its proper place, remember? You asked me to do that before you left."

"Yeah, but... in the morning...? Isn't it too early? Come later, let me sleep now." My body hit the couch once again as I finished speaking.

"It's 3 in the afternoon, Tiff."

"...Oh."

Crap.

There was silence for a few seconds, which made me think Sunny was gone and I was just dreaming. However, footsteps approached and soon after I felt Sunny's hand pull my shoulder, jolting my body to the other side and making me eye the shorter woman in annoyance.

"Would you care to explain what is that empty bottle of whiskey doing laying on the rug?" Sunny asked sternly, her hand pointing to the said object.

I looked at it for a moment then lazily gazed back at Sunny. "It's an empty bottle of whiskey laying on the rug."

"You-" Sunny approached me, bringing her face close to mine and sniffed. "Ugh, Tiffany! I can smell the alcohol even with your mouth closed! Why did you drink?"

"It was just a few shots," I tried to reason, although I knew I was lying. I had indeed drank the whole bottle.

"I know you, and 'just a few shots' don't do that to you. You're hung-over, aren't you?" she insisted.

"Ugh, Sun, whatever," I croaked. "Stop scolding me. I'm not a teenager. And I feel dizzy, I'm practically seeing you double. You have no idea what kind of hell it is to be scolded by two of you."

"I'm not scolding you," Sunny shook her head and said as she picked up the cushions lying on the floor, "I'm taking care of you." She looked at me worriedly. "I don't want you to start drinking like you told me you used to a few years ago."

"I won't."

"Fine. Would you mind explaining me why you drank yourself to sleep, and most importantly, why the fuck are you here now?"

"Actually, yes." I placed one of the cushions on my face. "I don't want to talk. I want to sleep."

"God, Tiffany! How old are you?" Sunny cried. I felt the cushion be yanked away and before I could protest, Sunny was grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

She was quite strong for someone her size.

"What now?" I asked, annoyedly.

"Go take a bath. Brush your teeth. I'll find something sweet for you to eat and then you're going to talk. You don't even need to tell me it's something to do with Taeyeon, though, because that's quite obvious. But you're talking either way. Don't test me, Tiffany," Sunny glared at me as she rapidly made her way upstairs to my room and dragged me along.

"Seriously? What are you now? My babysitter?"

"No, Tiffany. I'm your best friend. I don't only work for you, you're not only a boss to me. I care about you and I love you like my sister, you drunk pinhead. And because of that, I'm willing to protect you and take care of you, even if that means forcefully giving you a reality check. I don't care if you get pissed off. Do I look like I'm scared of you?" she looked at me nonchalantly. "Get your shit together, you look awful. NOW," she finished, sternly, as she pulled me into the bathroom and left right after, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone.

I sighed, giving in.

"For Pete's sake, Tiff, you're making me anxious!" Sunny exclaimed as I kept crying incessantly.

"And she hasn't even called, you know?!" I cried out, stuffing my mouth with another chocolate from the chocolate box Sunny had found in the house. "By now she already knows I've left! And she hasn't even bothered to call me! What if she doesn't want to see me again? What if it's over, Sunny? It can't be over! I can't go on without her, I seriously can't!"

"Whoa, there. Slow down, Tiff." Sunny eyed me worriedly before she sat down on the bed I was lying on. "You can't go on without her? Tiff, you've been dating this woman for only a month. And it hasn't been even a whole year since you've met her. Aren't you taking this too far?"

"I'm not." I sniffed. "I can't."

"Tiffany-"

"I'm being very serious here, Sunny!" I swatted. "I don't know what would become of me if I lost Taeyeon! I can't lose Taeyeon!" I finished with difficulty as I almost choke on my own tears.

"Tiff, honestly..." Sunny sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to keep calm, "Honestly, you're not like that. This is not you, I think it's probably the alcohol wearing off. Calm down, okay? It's not that big of a deal-"

"OF COURSE IT IS!" I shrieked, crying harder. "I-" I halted my own speech as I heard the sound of my phone ringing and vibrating somewhere on the bed among the sheets. I immediately sat up and started to pat around the bed looking for it, hopeful it was Taeyeon calling me. But, much to my dismay, the ID read 'Mr. Cox.' More tears began to fall and I growled loudly in anger.

"Pick it up for me, it's Martin," I said, tossing the device to Sunny. "I'm in no condition to talk to anyone right now."

I felt Sunny's concerned eyes fall on me once again as she took my phone and slid her finger on its screen to pick up the call.

"Yes?" There was a pause before she continued talking. "Yes, she's already in Los Angeles. Tomorrow in the afternoon it is. Around this time? Okay. We'll be there, Mr. Cox. Thank you."

She ended the call and looked at me again, giving me a small smile. "Cox wants to see you in the old set tomorrow afternoon. He said around 3 or 4p.m. He says he needs to meet with you personally."

"I'm so stupid," I muttered, trying to stop crying. "I should've stayed with her. I shouldn't be here."

"Actually, yes and no," Sunny said, adjusting herself on my bed and placing my phone on the nightstand. "Yes, you are stupid. But not only you. She is too. Both of you messed up, you know. This ridiculous first fight ensued from the lack of communication between the two of you. I agree that Taeyeon overreacted and that she could've handled the news in a more polite and mature way, but you shouldn't have told the man the two of you would be back to the U.S. to re-shoot the movie. You shouldn't have spoken for her."

"It wasn't my intention to speak for her! I said that because I wanted to finish the conversation with Martin soon so that Taeyeon and I could discuss it between ourselves and tell him later if our decision were different. But as soon as we ended the call, Taeyeon freaked out and started to argue with me. Before I knew, we were already fighting and I couldn't even manage to tell her that. It all happened too fast." I wiped the tears away as I began to slowly stop crying.

Sunny sighed. "I'm sorry, Tiff."

"Yeah. So am I."

There was a brief silence between us.

"I miss her, Sunny. And I feel bad. I didn't even say goodbye. I didn't-"

"Stop blaming yourself. Stop feeling bad. Both of you are to blame here, you're both wrong, so don't take it all out on yourself, okay? Things will get better soon. She's probably in the same situation as you are, really."

"I know, I know. I just... I just really want to be with her again. I want to make up. It's lonely without her."

"Can I ask you a question to be honest with you?" Sunny eyed me. "Completely honest?"

I nodded.

"Don't you think you're getting too attached too soon?"

I looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... Realistically speaking, you two haven't been together for that long. Neither as friends nor as lovers. It's your first time and, honestly, it's a minor problem, but you're so- you're such a wreck because of it, Tiff. It has been a day since you've seen her for the last time and you're talking as if she were, I don't know, traveling to Mars or something. I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"Uh, you? I'm worried about you. I'm worried this mad love won't be good for you. You're too early into your relationship... What if it doesn't work out? I'm afraid you'll get hurt. Worse, I'm terrified of how you may react if you two break up. So, I'll ask again: don't you think you're getting too attached too soon?"

"I... I..." I tried to speak, but didn't know what to say.

Maybe Sunny was right. Maybe I was getting to attached too soon. But it's not like I didn't have my reasons. Taeyeon was everything I had ever dreamt of having in my life. In such a short period of time, she had done so much for me, she had done things I had never seen anyone else do for me. Not even my family. And, yeah, it's true, we hadn't been together for that long, but regardless, I already knew everything I needed to know about us, about my feelings... Even about what to expect from our relationship, considering our personalities. About Taeyeon herself, too. And I was willing to take her as she was, with all her flaws, all her downsides.

"Maybe," I replied.

"And?"

"And I don't care."

Sunny sighed defeatedly, lying her back on one of my pillows.

"I really, really, REALLY don't want to do this. Really," I complained as Sunny parked the car. "I rue the moment I booked my ticket back to Los Angeles."

"Well, I'm afraid there's no backing up now," Sunny responded, turning off the engine and looking at me. "I won't tell you to cheer up. I wouldn't cheer up if I were in your shoes. But you've committed yourself to this now, Tiff. And you're not the kind of person who breaks a promise."

I sighed, half angrily and half desperately. "This is going to be a nightmare."

"Maybe not."

"Half a year shooting the same movie I shot with Taeyeon with an entirely different actress? Kissing an entirely different woman repeatedly?" I stared at Sunny before nodding. "A nightmare."

Sunny smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

"You should be." I put my shades on. My eyes were puffy from all the crying from the previous afternoon-and night, for I had cried inconspicuously as Sunny slept beside me. I didn't bother to put makeup on, people would notice the sore eyelids any way. "Let's go."

I entered the set with a heavy heart. My mind was a mess, torn between recalling every memory I shared with Taeyeon in that place and envisioning how it would be now, without her. I wanted to run away, I wanted to lock myself inside the house or maybe fly back to Korea to pounce on Taeyeon's arms and tell her I won't do that anymore, but Sunny was painfully right. I couldn't back out.

"Tiffany!" I heard voice's Martin, and soon witnessed the man come to me hurriedly. "I'm so glad you're here, oh God. And I'm sorry for the mess, but it's crazy around here. We're working on improving the set and gathering the crew again, there's so much to do. I just spoke to the writer and, let me tell you, the woman is driving me insane. She now isn't sure whether she's modifying the script or not, and she doesn't want us to start re-filming unless she makes up her mind," the man rambled, massaging his temples.

I smiled weakly and adjusted my sunglasses on my face . "It's fine. Um..." I began, but hesitated a little, "Mr. Cox, I don't mean to be impolite, but if everything's still so messy, why did you need me here? Oh, and about Taeyeon-"

"Oh! Right, right. I'm sorry," he smiled embarrassedly and took me by the arm, leading the way and taking me away from Sunny, who just stood there eyeing us. "I, yeah, I know about Taeyeon. So I needed you here because I think you need to meet your new partner, right? I mean, since Taeyeon and you met in advance... I think it's just fair to do that again now."

"Ah," I gulped and inhaled deeply as I tried to put on my best smile, "right."

Martin nodded. "She's in the makeup room," he said as we reached a door. "I have to go back to taking care of a few things, so, good luck. You'll like her, trust me. She's a great one."

I concurred, and watched as the man walked away. I was, however, extremely confused. Hadn't he said he would give up on the movie if Taeyeon and I weren't in it? How come he was so chill and eager to have me meet my new co-star now?

"I guess desperate times require desperate measures," I thought out loud to myself.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to keep myself calm and get over the fact that that was really happening and that I would spend months shooting a movie I was supposed to shoot with Taeyeon with a different actress. I pushed the door open and entered the room almost silently, and my eyes fell on a blonde figure sitting on a black swivel chair that had its back facing the door. I closed the latter behind me as gently as I had opened it, and took one deep breath before proceeding.

"Hi," I called, hoping to get the woman's attention and make her face me. "I'm Tiffany. I, uh... It looks like we'll be working together now, so-"

"Yeah, it looks like," the woman interrupted me, and my whole body froze as soon as that voice reached my ears.

I watched as the chair rotated, almost painfully slowly, and the person sitting on it smiled at me as she continued, "How do you like that?"


	28. Reunited

POV — Tiffany

"How do you like that?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Or my eyes. Or the situation as a whole.

"Tae?" I managed to breathe out. Taeyeon got up and opened her arms, smiling apologetically. I approached her with quick steps and a thumping heart and threw my arms around her neck, wrapping it tightly. All the agony, the anxiety and the uneasiness from a few moments ago had gone away.

Taeyeon let out a faint sigh as her lips brushed against my ear as she embraced me, her palms resting on my back, pulling me closer. "Yes, dear."

"You're really here..." I smiled, tightening my grip around her. "I already missed you so much. You have no idea how much."

"I missed you too." Taeyeon broke the hug and cupped my cheeks with her hands tenderly, gazing at me. "I'm so sorry, Fany. I was so stupid, so childish, so mindless. I should've supported you, should've stayed by your side. I'm sorry, please forgive me. When Hayeon told me you had left, I, I-"

"Hayeon talked to you about it?"

"Yes," Taeyeon nodded. "And it felt like my whole world was crumbling. I felt so lost, so guilty... Please, Fany, please forgive me. I didn't realize how much of a prick I was being back then. I'm sorry I let my pride dissuade me from going after you when you left my room that night. I wanted to, believe me, it's just... I'm just so-"

"Shh," I shushed her, stroking her cheek with my fingertips, "stop talking like that. I'm not mad at you. You don't even need to say anything. You know, your apology is your being here right now. This is more than enough for me, believe it."

"Why? You should be so mad. You should be rejecting me and talking about how downright ignorant I was. Why are you treating me so nicely?" Taeyeon frowned, her words dripping guilty.

"Because the fact that you came back means you care. About me, about us. And that's all I need. Actions speak louder than words, I can see that now," I crooned, cutting her in once again and smiling warmly as to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Everything was already fine. "You could've stayed in Korea, you know... You could've apologized but stayed there. You could've left me alone for real, but you didn't. That means more than you can imagine. I'm not angry, bitter, hurt, whatever. I'm happy, Taeyeon, I'm ecstatic."

Taeyeon smiled back at me and sighed in relief before pressing our lips together. I reveled in the moment, kissing her back, briefly caressing her neck with one of my hands. The kiss didn't last long, but it lasted enough. Everything felt right again.

"Tae, I, uh..." I began when we parted, "I need to apologize too. I'm sorry I put words in your mouth and spoke for you when we talked to Martin back then. I meant well, I swear, I just wanted the conversation to be over soon so that we could discuss about it between ourselves. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I overreacted. Shouldn't have thrown such a tantrum like that, I know that now," Taeyeon smiled sheepishly.

"So no hard feelings?" I asked playfully, cocking an eyebrow.

Taeyeon chuckled, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Not a single one."

"Great! Because we have better things to focus on. Like..." I said, running my hands through her hair and smiling happily, "You're blonde! When did this happen?!"

Taeyeon smirked. "This morning, to be honest. It was the new production designer's idea. I got to meet him last night, when I met with Martin. They were discussing a few ideas and this came up. Like it?"

"Fresh from the oven, huh?" I chortled. My fingers gently brushed Taeyeon's growing bangs as I kept fondly observing the blonde locks. And I was aware of the smitten smile my lips were curved into, but I couldn't help it. "I love it. You look like an angel. Please keep it."

Taeyeon stared at me for a few seconds with a tranquil countenance before she broke into another smile, and I could've sworn I had seen a hint of pink brewing on her cheeks.

"I will."

"Move, move," Taeyeon said as she nudged my leg. "Why must you always slouch on the couch like that? You leave so little space for me."

I smirked, putting away my phone to veer my attention to her. "You are little. You don't need much space." I giggled and sat up as I noticed her expression turn into a frown. "Besides, that's how I'm used to act like in my house. I'm not always accompanied by pretty Hollywood superstars, you know?"

Taeyeon smiled playfully, shoving the last piece of pizza she had in hands in her mouth. She wiped her hands on her sweatpants and nodded. "I see." I watched as she sauntered her way out of my sight. Soon after, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders from behind the couch, and lips brushing against my neck uttering a soft voice. "Not always, you said? So that means you've been seeing some people, huh? Want to share your experiences?" Taeyeon whispered before she placed a gentle kiss on my skin.

I held in an amused chortle and slid my hands through the length of her arms. "A woman has her needs. I can get lonely. Must keep meting people here and there until I find the one, don't you think?" I muttered.

"Indeed," she cooed again, her lips making their way up to my ear in soft kisses, making me sigh and close my eyes for a fleeting moment. "But let's make a deal:" she began, and her arms let go of me so that her hands could rest on my shoulders, giving them a light squeeze. Her fingertips traveled down my chest as she continued, "You let me know when you're available and in case you get tired of your other affairs. I'd love to keep you company in your lonely nights. You know, anything they can do for you..."

I waited for Taeyeon to finish her sentence, but she remained silent. When I turned my face to look at her, I was surprised by a pair of mischievous lips meeting mine. I couldn't help but to smile against them.

"I can do better," she finally concluded, grinning cockily.

"Can you?" I cocked an eyebrow as I bantered.

"I can," she nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck as she leaned in for another kiss. "I'm the one for you. Just wait and see."

I smiled upon hearing Taeyeon's words and took a moment to look at her face. Her eyes seemed to gleam, and her lips were curved into a smile that seemed to come from a mixture of happiness, sincerity and playfulness. I couldn't help but smile back, letting out a small chuckle. "You're such an idiot, did you know that?"

"I wasn't until I met you."

"Seriously!" I laughed, slapping her arm. She sniggered and planted a sweet kiss on my cheek, teasingly pinching my shoulder as she quickly walked away towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I voiced out.

"MORE PIZZA!" I heard a no-longer-visible Taeyeon exclaim.

I smiled to myself.

A month and a half later.

POV — Taeyeon

The rays of sunshine filtering through the poorly closed shutters woke me up when I felt them touch and warm up my face. I stirred on the bed, groaning lazily...

Refusing to believe I had woken up before the alarm went off.

I shifted my position and unwillingly opened my eyes. As my tired lids opened, my sight fell on the sleeping figure next to me. A bare back faced me as I heard the sound of a rhythmical and steady breath in the silent room.

I smiled sloppily.

I rubbed my eyes a few times and reached out for my phone that was tucked under my pillow. The alarm would go off in 10 minutes. I set it off and threw the device aside, moving closer to the raven-haired person who remained sound asleep on the bed and placing a kiss behind her shoulder.

"Hmmm," she mumbled.

"Fany, wake up," I whispered into her ear as I let my fingertips caress the silky hair.

She muttered something I couldn't understand and pulled up the covers, trying to cover her head in order to halt me from waking her up. I pulled them back down gently, and moved closer again to press my lips against her temple.

"Wake up."

"I didn't hear the alarm go off..." she murmured.

"It didn't."

"Then why are you waking me up?" she complained, almost whining.

"Because I am already up and I want some company," I cooed into her ear, grinninh, tracing the skin of her uncovered arm with my fingers.

I felt the mattress shift after a few seconds of silence. Tiffany turned around and aligned her body with mine, adjusting herself in her new position and resting her face on my chest. Her eyes remained closed as I kissed her forehead.

"And you say I am the lazy one..." I murmured.

"You are the lazy one. I'm just tired," Tiffany mumbled, burying her face in my chest.

I smirked. "I see I did a good job last night."

I felt my skin tingle when Tiffany let out a lovely muffled chuckle against it. The latter opened her eyes and looked up at me, locking her brown orbs with mine. "Don't you always?" she whispered.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "You tell me."

Tiffany cupped my face and looked at me in the eyes for a few seconds. Her expression was serious yet gentle and utterly enticing, and I could feel her thumb slowly caressing my skin.

"Oh, no. Don't look at me like that unless you want me to pounce on you again," I cooed and let out a snigger.

Tiffany simply smiled back at me and leaned in for a kiss. I kissed her back and let my hands trace the curves of her body as I explored, caressed, and squeezed them underneath my palms. Tiffany lay her back on the bed and pulled me closer as the kiss became sizzling. I positioned myself on top of her and placed my hands on the mattress by the sides of her body and slowly pulled away from the kiss when I felt her hands roaming my back, only to find the hook of my bra and unclasp it, and started to trail lingering kisses down her neck.

"You're such a mischievous child when you want to, Stephanie, did you know that?" I breathed hoarsely against her skin and closed my eyes, shivering thanks to the hands that were traveling down my thighs.

Tiffany merely chortled and pulled my body against hers once again, this time making them clash. I withdrew my face from her neck and hungrily attacked her lips once again, latching my hands on to her neck and squeezing my body against her own.

Screw getting ready early.

"TAEYEON, I SWEAR TO GOD!" I heard Tiffany scream from the room as I finished brushing my teeth.

"Come on, Fany," I chuckled, uttering loudly for her to hear me clearly, "It's not that bad!"

"Not that bad?!" I heard footsteps getting closer. Soon after, Tiffany showed up by the bathroom's door, pointing at her bruised neck. "You call this 'not that bad?' My neck is turning purple, Taeyeon! I mean, hickeys?! Really?! We have a live talk show to be on today!"

Flashback — late January:

"Whoa, really?!" Tiffany exclaimed excitedly. "The two of us? When?"

"Yeah," I nodded, smiling. "February 14th. It's going to be a Valentine's Day special. And it looks like Betty's show has changed a lot since the last time I've been there. I mean, I've heard now she invites into the audience a certain amount of fans of the main guests'. And we'll be the main guests for this special, so I guess there'll be many of our fans there?"

"This is going to be so, so, so cool!" Tiffany smiled happily, clasping her hands together. "Wait, but isn't this year's Valentine's Day going to be on a Saturday? I thought Betty's show aired on Thursdays."

"Yep. That's why it's a special. Her show won't air on Thursday that week so that it can air on Saturday. Many people are looking forward to it, from what I've heard. Particularly because..." I stopped for a moment, taking a look at my phone "um, because 'TaeNy' are going to be there," I finished, smiling and raising my eyebrows.

"TaeNy?" Tiffany thought for a moment, then giggled. "Cute."

"Sounds like everyone is really curious as to what we're going to say there. I mean, after the news about the movie being re-shot broke out... I bet they indeed have a lot to ask. They'll want to know our stance towards it."

"Oh, I'm sure they are," Tiffany nodded. "I mean, did you see how we were already ambushed with mentions on Twitter when the news spread?!"

I nodded, chuckling. "Chaotic."

"Right?" Tiffany giggled, but then became serious before continuing, "I don't blame them, though. They were all looking forward to it so much. It's a shame that we have to keep them waiting for so much longer..."

"Hey. Don't worry. They're still looking forward to it, you know they are. They won't stop talking about it. And I bet you dollars to doughnuts they'll get even more pumped after our interview with Betty. And it's worth it, to be honest. The script, the settings, everything is so much better this time. The story feels so much deeper. We're going to deliver an even better movie, trust me," I told her and smiled, touching her chin with my fingertips.

Tiffany's countenance lit up and she smiled again, nodding confidently.

"I'm so glad you didn't give up on this," she cooed.

"Me too," I agreed.

End of Flashback

"I like purple," I said, grinning. "Looks good on you, though."

Tiffany pouted frustratedly and groaned a bit as she inspected the bruises I had left on her neck once again, running her fingers through them as she looked at the bathroom's mirror. "Ugh. You are impossible."

I chuckled merrily and wrapped my arms around her body from the side, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day."

Tiffany looked at me and tried not to smile, but ended up breaking into a gleeful grin that preceded the soft kiss she placed on my lips. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby."

"But I thought we were going together! Why did you bring your stuff, then?"

"Because I planned on getting ready here with you. But I can't wear the outfit I picked with these marks on my neck. Luckily, I think I have a very pretty and warm beige turtleneck dress back at home," Tiffany responded, grabbing her car keys and making her way to the front door.

"So we see each other on the set?"

"Mhm," Tiffany nodded and looked at her watch. "In... 3 hours." She made a pause and looked at me, chuckling when she noticed the childish pout on my lips. "Can you make it?"

I chortled and nodded, approaching her with quick steps and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "Sure. Go. And take care."

I arrived at the set first, accompanied by Sooyoung. There was no sight of Tiffany, nor Betty, but not seeing the host of a show backstage was just as usual as arriving 3 hours prior to the broadcast, like I had done. I made my way to the makeup room and Sooyoung decided to roam around the backstage as I got ready. The hairdresser was styling my hair in loose curls when we heard someone knock on the door.

"Excuse me?"

I smiled largely.

The girl who was doing my hair smiled politely at Tiffany, who was making her way inside. The girl signaled her to sit on the empty chair and told her she would help her get ready in a minute. Not long after, my hair was flawlessly done and the makeup artist took over while the hairdresser moved on to Tiffany. She and I didn't exchange any words. For some reason, there was a shy atmosphere between the two of us, albeit the silence wasn't awkward at all.

An hour later, we were all ready and the staff had left the room, leaving Tiffany and I alone.

"I love your hair," she said, smiling and relaxing on her chair.

"And I love you." I winked.

Tiffany was silent for a second and then sighed. "Oh, dear. That's so..."

"Romantic? Endearing? Sweet?"

"... Freaking cheesy," she concluded. I burst out laughing.

Her laughter mixed with mine and a took a moment to look at her. She was in the beige dress she had mentioned earlier, and the dress was kind of tight-fitting, which accentuated her curves effortlessly. There was a black bow belt around her waist and her heels were of the same color. Her long black hair was curled loosely, similarly to mine, only her fringe had also been curles, giving her a classical and delicate look, and her makeup had been done in all nude shades except for her lips, that had a light pinkish tone.

She looked gorgeous.

"You look beautiful, Fany," I murmured, slowly getting up and approaching her as I smiled. "It looks like the hickeys were a good idea. I love the dress."

She chuckled. "You look beautiful too. Your outfit looks so classy. Did you pick it yourself?" she asked, pointing at my clothes. I was wearing a slightly baggy white sweater combined with black skinny pants and white heels. I complemented my outfit with a few accessories, such as a small watch, golden bracelets and a small golden necklace Tiffany had given me a few weeks before.

I grinned and nodded, crouching down in front of her and placing my hands on her thighs. "I did. Surprised?"

"No!" she giggled. "I know your fashion taste is great. I've always found your outfits pretty. I like them all."

"Always?"

She assented. "Do you really think I didn't know you before I met you?"

"Oooh, interesting," I cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "What did you think of me back then?"

Tiffany smiled and was about to respond when we were interrupted by a knock on the door. As it was pushed it open, a tall figure popped her head inside the room.

"Hey, lovebirds," Sooyoung called us. "Let's go to the waiting room. The staff said they have prepared a snack for you guys."

"Oh good!" Tiffany exclaimed happily as she got up. I followed. "I'm hungry. Are you coming with us, Soo?"

"Fany, there's food involved. Is that even a question when it comes to the giraffe?" I said, indirecly teasing Sooyoung. Surprisingly, the latter just laughed.

"The dwarf is right, though. Shall we?"

Once we reached the prettily arranged waiting room, the three of us sat down and began to eat. There was mini burgers, sandwiches, orange and strawberry juices, and a variety of sweet pastries. I found it weird that Sunny wasn't there, but Tiffany explained me that she had injured her knee and was in pain, so she was taking care of Fany's business from her place as she rested and healed. Upon hearing that, Sooyoung immediately offered to help if either Tiffany or Sunny needed anything. I smiled at that, thinking about how much of a bond the four of us were forming.

"Hey, Soo... Weren't we supposed to have received the show's script by now?" Tiffany asked.

I cocked my eyebrows. "Yeah. Where is it?"

"Oh, there's no script today," Sooyoung replied nonchalantly as she focused on the game she was playing on her phone.

"What?! ... Really?" Tiffany inquired, confused.

"Yeah," Sooyoung nodded, putting her phone down. "It's a special episode and your fans are here, so... It seems the production and Betty herself thought it would be better and more fun not to have a script for today."

"Oh."

There was a moment of silence.

"I can't put my finger on whether this is good or bad," Tiffany voiced.

"Well, if you want a more dynamic and interactive show and if you want to let your guests speak more freely, it's great. The downside is that we don't know what's coming at us.I chuckled nervously as I finished.

"You think she's going to make embarrassing questions or something?"

I shook my head. "Betty's not as straightforward and obnoxious as Wendy can be, for example. But..."

"But what?" Tiffany listened to me attentively.

"The fans... I mean, I don't know what she intends to accomplish with welcoming so many of our fans into the audience today, but honestly, Fany, I don't know what to expect. From what I've seen on the internet, they are wild."

Sooyoung suddenly laughed out loud. "Yah, really, I think you're just impressed. Every fan is like that, Taeyeon. Like, you're just making a big deal out of it. They can be a little overly passionate sometimes but that's it. Trust me, I've always been the one who checked what people talk about you on the internet, especially your fans. I think you're aprehensive just because you've never had any close interaction with them. You haven't, have you?"

"Not really..."

"Yeah, so that must be it," Sooyoung smiled.

"Sooyoung is right, though," Tiffany butted in. "You don't need to be scared of them. They might get carried away sometimes but they will respect you if they truly like you. The inconvenient ones are a minority, trust me."

I smiled calmly and nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed.

Being with Tiffany and Sooyoung at the same time never failed to put a toothy smile on my face.


End file.
